Chapter 32 Natchez, 3D Virtual Reality, Melrose Plantation

John and Colleen Nixon in front of her Scion XA
with 280,000 miles on it.

It was late in the day when the Trace petered out at the outskirts of Natchez, MS.  I haven't had much to eat since early the day before as there is nothing on the trace.  I spotted my salvation, the red beacon of a Wendy's sign.  One triple Wendy's deluxe burger with cheese, a large fries and a large frosty and I am spared from certain death.   Natchez, MS is a town that has done an excellent job of preserving their history.  It once boasted more millionaires than any other town in America for its size.  The reason is cotton.  Cotton created many fortunes prior to the Civil war and those fortunes built many plantation mansions that were located in town not out in the countryside as is more familiar.  It is also near the home of Colleen Nixon (my niece) and her brother John who share a house across the river in the town of Ferriday.  I had given them fair warning several days earlier that they would be hosting their vagabond uncle David and his scruffy dog.  As I approached Ferriday another flat tire stopped me about a mile short so John came to my rescue in his pick up and hauled me the rest of the way.  Colleen describes Ferriday as a "S--thole" although its no worse than a lot of towns I have passed through. They live in a neighborhood of working class ramblers in various states of upkeep.  Their place is the family "hurricane home" that is when another hurricane bears down on my in-laws place in the delta they now have this house to retreat to.  They learned their lesson after Katrina when they fled just in time and lost everything except the pick up truck they drove to safety in. When we first entered the house Murphy is surrounded by her 2 small dogs, one an ancient croaking chihuahua and the other a Benji dog.  They bark non-stop in stereo at poor Murphy to tries to hide behind me to no avail. They stick like flies. Mercifully, Colleen herds them into the kitchen behind a plywood barrier where they remain frustrated the rest of our visit. Colleen works at the Natchez Visitor Center and has a second job as some sort of freelance store inventory checker at local stores.  John works in the supply business for equipment used in oil drilling although lately that work has dried up. He is also a video gamer of the highest order.

Living in another world

Tonight I am in for my first experience with 3D virtual reality video gaming. I was pretty sure they just wanted to humiliate their uncle. To lower their expectations, I warned him that the last video game I played was "Pong" so I was about to take a 40 year leap in video gaming technology.  He had just acquired what was termed the latest and first commercially available 3D virtual reality headset by Sony played on a PlayStation 4. I am fitted with this helmet like device and hold these wands in each hand that are bristling with triggers and controls.  The game starts.  I find myself in the dripping basement of a London tenement confronted by some bald headed, thick necked brute wearing a bloodied wife beater shirt.  He is really pissed off at me and growls and rants in a heavy brogue while playing with a revolver.  Apparently I have botched a jewelry heist and I am about to find out why.  Fade to black. The next scene involves a desperate shoot out that leaves me sweaty. Yikes!
As a first exposure to this technology I am blown away.  It is very real.  You are totally immersed, you can almost smell the guy's bad breath.  It is like having a personal Omnitheater around your head except it is better.  The hand wands allow you to pick up objects, open doors, light a cigar and of course load and fire weapons using a pair of disembodied gloves that float on the screen above you.  Surprisingly, it is very intuitive and easy to learn.  John can follow the action on a separate screen and gives me lots of tips as I progress through the game.  Once in a while, Murphy nudges me with his wet nose reminding me I am actually just sitting on a couch in a living room not in some other world.  I tried a couple other adventures including an amazing deep sea dive in a shark cage.  Inevitably, a huge shark manages to tear the door off the cage leaving me feeling very vulnerable.  I am rescued just in time.  So for just $500 for the headset and another $100 for the software you too can escape your miserable, boring life and be terrified by London thugs and sharks.  A good stocking stuffer idea for my wife Sue.
The next day Colleen takes me on a tour of Natchez.  She says Natchez is controlled by the "blue haired mafia" the garden club ladies who have seen to it that the place is preserved as is. I told her that is probably a good thing as it drives the tourist economy.  I don't think hipsters from Manhattan will be enticed to come down here to go zip lining and hang out at the tea shop unless it somehow becomes "hip".  First stop is the Visitor Center where she works in the gift shop.  I asked her colleague who their typical customer is.  Without hesitation "Old people and whatever they buy for their grandchildren".  The best seller are these little porcelain keepsake boxes decorated with flowers that look expensive but are only $1.97.  We drove around town following a driving tour to view the several mansions.

Melrose Plantation in Natchez, MS

 The National Park Service recently acquired and offers one of  Melrose Plantation that we decide to spring for a tour of.  It is massive and succeeds in it's goal of impressing your shorts off.  The man who built it had amassed a fortune from a series of far flung cotton plantations in three states.   Our guide is a park ranger who comes across as a drill Sargent in his demeanor with a crisp uniform and military bearing.  He fairly barks out the pertinent facts at our rag tag band of retirees who shuffle along the tour. We are marched around to see the place but he tells a story at the end of the tour that makes it memorable.
It is after the civil War. The slaves have been freed, the owner asks two of his most faithful slaves to remain in his pay.  One is a woman in her forties who has always managed his household. The widowed owner suddenly dies leaving the entire estate and properties to his only son who is but 7 years old. The boy and the woman make a pact to never leave each other. It is a promise they both keep. She raised him as a son and effectively runs the estate until he is old enough to take over.  She lives until she is 105 years old and stays under his roof as the only mother he ever knew.  The man dies first at age 65 and his wife continues his pact.  In the end they are all buried next to each other.  By the time our guide finishes the tale he voice is almost a whisper and most of us have tears welling in our eyes.