trange Man in Black by the Lake

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Castle Lake was quite large and beautiful especially at sunset. In a very quiet area of the lake, along the shore on a park bench, a man would sit each day at sunset. The man was distinguished, elderly and dressed all in black with a black folder under one arm.

He sat virtually alone except for a courier who would approach him with another black envelope and they would exchange envelopes. The man sat in the same spot, but when the sunset was over and darkness fell over the lake, he would be gone.

The man in black preferred to be left alone and was hardly ever seen speaking to anyone. He was not a tourist but had more of a diplomatic style.

Then one day he did not show up. He was gone.

The man’s disappearance was reported to Lady Angela of Alpine Castle because her castle was nearby. Lady Angela decided she would do nothing about it. But one day a young woman appeared at Lady Angela’s door and introduced herself as the granddaughter of the man in black.

She said her grandfather was a prominent financier in France and England. He had investments in many large banks. The granddaughter went on to say the he did not like going to any office, or sit by a desk at get his inspirations for future investment concepts. He preferred to be in Lilliland next to the lake. A bank courier would meet him at a certain time with information and he would give the courier the orders for his investments that the courier would take back to the bank.

She hoped that the presence of her grandfather sitting by the lake was not a distraction to anyone.

Lady Angela asked his whereabouts now that he was no longer in Lilliland. The granddaughter said that his doctor told him he needed more exercise to keep his arthritis under control. So he went to Scotland to the St. Andrews Golf Course to learn about the benefits of golf as an exercise for controlling arthritis.

She said that someday he might come back to Lilliland.