Ramon Ballard

The Last Chance Ramon Ballard

108-year-old Horace Chance has lived through tragedy. His first wife is murdered over a loaf of bread during the Depression to his son's selfless sacrifice at Pearl Harbor. The loss of his grandson in Viet Nam followed by the death of his granddaughter to an overdose only worsened the pain. After he loses his great-granddaughter to an act of terrorism on 9-11 makes him the last Chance. He decides to give an exclusive interview to Bill Jones, a reporter for The Jeffersonian Magazine, who is doing a human-interest story about survivor's families. To start the interview Horace claims to learn about Emily. He needs to start at the beginning. Born in South Carolina, the son of a racial bigot his heritage taught Horace value of his white skin, because a black-skinned person was not equal to him, and could never amount to anything. Never, that is, until he heard a black piano named Scott Joplin to play the piano at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The Last Chance shows all the true opportunities that are the future heritage of America. Horace Chance's life reflects the influences of lost friends that have brightened his journey. Whether it be a couple of bicycle shop owners from Ohio that teach him all about flight, his short career playing the National Pastime, friends that changed our musical theater, or a chance meeting with a champion of civil rights. But what is his legacy?