The Best Laid Plans (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)
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What stories illustrate the dangers of trying to control fate?
Today's stories are about real people who tried to control fate. And what they end up doing is just causing historic levels of destruction. But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place, because that's all we do, and we upload two, three, even four times every week. So if that's of interest to you, please offer to rearrange the Follow Buttons pantry. But instead of actually doing that, just remove all the labels from their canned goods. Okay, let's get into our first story, which is called The End.
Thank you.
On the morning of June 26, 1826, 38-year-old Samuel Willie Jr. stepped out of his house in a remote area of New Hampshire's White Mountain Range called The Notch. His wife, Polly, was at his side, and together they looked around in shock because the land surrounding their home was almost completely destroyed. There had been a huge storm the previous night, and so Sam and Polly had been expecting some damage. But what they were seeing now was far worse than they had imagined. The heavy rain had caused the river in front of their home to completely overflow, so half of their property was now completely submerged in water. The deluge had also triggered a rock slide from one side of the mountain slopes behind them.
So there were also rocks and mud and entire trees that were now kind of littering their yard and adjacent fields. Sam saw, luckily, the slide had missed their house in the barn where they kept their livestock. But only barely. And there was damage to those structures from the storm itself that he would have to repair. So Sam began calculating how much time and money it was going to take to clean all this up. And next to him, he heard Polly kind of mumble to herself that this had all been a really bad idea. Sam sighed because he knew that Polly was referring to their decision to move to the Notch in the first place. And right now, staring at all this awful destruction right in front of him, he had to agree with her.
This might have been a terrible idea. So up until about a year ago, Sam and Polly and their five kids had lived on a farm about 20 miles away from where they were right now. And it had been a very quiet, cozy life. But Sam had always had this feeling that he wanted to do something more exciting than just be a regular old farmer. And with this house in the notch, he'd seen an opportunity for adventure and also an opportunity to make some money. So in this part of the White Mountain Range, there was a 12 mile long road that cut through the range from one side to the other. And the notch house was right in the middle of that road. But since this was the year 1826, this road was more like a glorified trail.
It was mountainous and rocky, and neither horses nor wagons could make it all the way through.
What happened to Samuel Willey Jr. and his family during the storm?
So as a result, travelers were typically on foot, and there was literally nowhere to stop on this whole 12-mile road except for the Willys' notch house. So Sam had realized how valuable this notch house could be if he converted it into an inn. But he also had bigger aspirations for the place, like beyond it just being a pit stop, He wanted to turn it into a destination. After all, the White Mountains were incredibly beautiful, and where the Willys lived in the Notch was no exception. Their house was right on a riverbank in a mountain valley, surrounded on all sides by the woods and towering mist-covered peaks. It was all honestly breathtaking. And as soon as Sam had seen it, he knew that it could be a famous destination for poets and authors and artists because it was the kind of place people would write songs and books about.
I mean, it was perfect. But so far, his dream of coming out here to the notch house had been a lot of work. The house was large, but really old, and it had been abandoned for a while before he and his family got there. So it was in really bad shape and quite dilapidated. Sam had hired two men to live on the property and help him fix it up.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What stories illustrate the dangers of trying to control fate?
0:00–3:07
2
What happened to Samuel Willey Jr. and his family during the storm?
3:07–17:02
3
How did Samuel Willey plan to turn his house into a destination?
17:02–29:20
4
What preparations did Samuel Willey make for the upcoming storm?
29:20–35:53
5
What catastrophic event occurred during the storm?
35:53–36:29