Louisiana Loco-Motive

Chapter 2

Once upon a lie.....

Hey there, it's Sarah Anne. Folks 'round here know me as Sugar. They call me that on account I grew up running barefoot through the sugar came fields of my daddy's plantation. You know, those tall stalks of sweetness that when cut and harvested has its juice extracted and crystallized into raw sugar, which then produces thick sweet gooey goodness like Steen's syrup, which has been an existence for the past six years; well, it may sound a bit pretentious, but that's how i spent ever day of my time as a wild spirited child, running through those fields of tall stalks in the open country; but, my born is Sarah Anne. Well, Sarah Anne Brown now that I'm married to Reggie Brown. We're still here in the country. God's country. The Bible belt deep south where things like sweet tea and God are the forefront of our lives. And, family. As crazy as they may be sometimes, where would any of us be without family? I know a thing or two 'bout the families 'round here, and it sure does make for a fine story. Wanna hear it? Of course, you do. Why else would you be interested in our lil town of Butterville?

Well, listen up, cause what I'm 'bout to tell you is a true tale 'bout an ol' winding dirt road. You see, it winds and winds and winds, almost like the hands of a clock. It just keeps on winding and stretching down the lane and 'round the bend. For how far? Oh, who knows? A few miles? Maybe. I don't s'pose anyone really knows for sure, but it leads you deeper and deeper into the dark abyss of another place in time. That place is the brushy sticks of the deep south. A southern swampland covered by marsh down in the bayou. It's what most folks know as Louisiana.

This tale begins with a black man called Ranger. Not just any black man, but a God-fearing fierce one. When he was but a young boy in 1895, he saw something that changed his life forever; and that something is the one thing he'd never ever forgotten. It affected him so deeply, he shared it with his son (Ronaldo), who in turn shared it with HIS son (Rufus), who shared it with HIS son (Reggie), who is Remi's dad by the way, who in turn, shared it with her. My nosy behind just happened to overhear the whole concocted thing. The legend I mean; cause, I was actually there when Remi's mom had that "accident."

But hold on, before we go any further, I'd like to introduce you to someone. She can probably tell this tale a whole lot better than I can. And, that's cause she's recorded every event that's happened 'round here for the past sixty, uhhh, let me think, sixty-nine years; yep since 1906, but she, herself, is 109 years old. She's our town historian, Mrs. Devereaux.