Lobe's Crossing

• Other Authors: Keller, Raymond Allen (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Creative writing; English literature
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-4667

In late summer of 1854 in the small town of Mayfly in western North Carolina sixteenyear- old Rex Benjamin stumbles upon a telegram sent to his devious stepfather by a mysterious "Mr. L" who claims to be coming across the mountains from the Tennessee Valley to inquire about property the stepfather has for sale. Because Rex knows his stepfather has sunk all his money and property into his failing plank road business, he suspects the land belongs to him and is the north Alabama land left to him by his dead father. As Rex's fears turn out to be facts, he chases Mr. L across the mountains, into Tennessee and finally to Alabama on the land itself. He finds that Mr. L is indebted to a nefarious timber man named Charlie Trimble who is in bed with the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. The railroad wants the land to lay tracks on, and Trimble needs the train in order to ship his wood. As Rex is pulled deeper into this world he finds that things are not as he had thought. Mr. L isn't just some random inquirer of land. His ties to the property date all the way back to before Rex was born, as do his ties to Rex himself. The revelation is enough to shake Rex to his core. He must face questions regarding his past, his view of his mother, and, finally, his view of the person he had always thought himself to be. === A Thesis submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. === Spring Semester, 2011. === December 4, 2010. === Includes bibliographical references. === Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Professor Directing Thesis; Mark Winegardner, Committee Member; Diane Roberts, Committee Member.