In December of
1919, there was a little-known Canadian theater owner that would become one of
the most famous missing persons in the first half of the 20th
century. The name of the man was Ambrose Small and he was a self-made
millionaire who, after selling off all of his theatrical holdings and then
after having a brief visit with his lawyer, simply disappeared. With no ransom
note or suicide letter, nor any money missing from his home or bank accounts,
the case of the missing theater owner left little for local police to
investigate and the case grew cold. Ever since then, no solid leads or evidence
has ever surfaced, and to this day no one really knows why he disappeared or know
of his whereabouts. Was it foul play or a voluntary absence? This story reminds
me of one of my favorite stanzas;
I asked the boy beneath
the pines.
He said, "The
master's gone alone
Walking somewhere on the
mountain
Cloud-hidden,
whereabouts unknown."
I think we all have
times when we would just like to disappear and just get away from it all, at
least for a little while.
