OU student hopes to sell soul on eBay to fund America trip

An announcement: soul for sale, fresh, with free shipping. Use an eBay MasterCard and make no payments for three months. The winner of the soul auction will receive a signed certificate of authentication and a vial containing the soul of one Jason C. Reynard, an Ohio University political-science major.

An announcement: soul for sale, fresh, with free shipping. Use an eBay MasterCard and make no payments for three months. The winner of the soul auction will receive a signed certificate of authentication and a vial containing the soul of one Jason C. Reynard, an Ohio University political-science major.

This multi-purpose soul can be used in your dad's favorite spaghetti sauce, as lawn fertilizer, smelling-salt substitution, dog enema, fishing bobber and much, much more.

And the purpose behind the auction with such Faustian undertones? So that Reynard and three fellow filmmakers can fund a travel documentary of a search for the American dream to be filmed this summer.

"I realized that getting funding was going to be really hard for this," Reynard said, pointing to his lack of material possessions to sell. And so, worthy of Goethe's protagonist, he's selling his soul to the highest bidder.

Reynard's goal is to raise $10,000 to cover the cost of gas, food and shelter.

"The truth is that I haven't really bought into the American Dream, so 40 years after Dr. Hunter S. Thompson went on his excursion to find that dream, I will search for it again," Reynard said. "The question is... did it already die?"

Reynard said his search will step away from the drugs-addled excesses of Thompson's signature work, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," to instead focus more on the current economic crisis and the "seemingly dulled-down life that is a result of American society."

"I'm tired of feeling distant from other people, and I'm tired of this settling feeling of the entire country going to Hell," Reynard states in his eBay pitch. "Everyone feels it, and nothing is done. We're watching the toilet overflow while looking at the handle that cuts the water off."

Reynard said that the group will travel the country and interview government officials, historians, businessmen and average citizens about the current state of the American dream.

"During this trip, we hope to find out if the American Dream does exist, or if it ever really did," Reynard said. "With historical flashbacks of the '60s and all of the political tensions of that time, we will look forward to current days and compare the two time periods."

Reynard said that with his political and historical knowledge, the film training of one colleague, and the knowledge of rules and laws of the land on the part of the other, the group guarantees a great finished product.

"These days American citizens seem to find themselves in a nightmare," Reynard said. "The question is why. Why are people depressed in this country? Why are kids committing suicide, doing drugs like crystal meth and going to jail longer, at a younger age? Is it when we realize the American Dream doesn't exist that we implode?"

Over 100 people have looked at the metaphysical eBay item, with the top bid Sunday standing at $500.01. Reynard said he would probably renew the item for another 10 days as he expects more exposure.

"This week I finished up a 10-page proposal of all the finances and everything that it's going to cost for this travel documentary," Reynard said. "Basically, I'm just trying to get the word out still. I'm going to hopefully get it to Rolling Stone. I know it's kind of their baby and their relationship with Dr. Thompson."

Reynard said that seeing as he only has one soul, he will only sell it once. "I can't really pull the soul card again," he said.

OU student Evan Smith, OU alum Kevin Butler and University of Georgia alum Matt Campolo will join Reynard on his trip, and their plan is to visit 13 or 14 U.S. cities throughout July and August.

"We're going to try to set up some interviews with state representatives, and maybe local journalists in places we go; anybody who can give some insight," Reynard said. "At the same time, we're going to interview random, Joe-American from off the street, ask for their input as well."

The group will travel first from Columbus to Pittsburgh, and then spend some time in New York City, hitting every borough. They will then travel down the East Coast before heading west to Nashville, Tenn., Atlanta and the Katrina-devastated portions of New Orleans. They will move west from there to Waco and El Paso, Texas, and then Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and finally back east to Chicago before heading back to Ohio from there.

"We're going to skip Vegas because we figure this whole idea is kind of stemming off from Hunter S. Thompson's search for the American dream, and he got sidetracked and went to Vegas, so we figured he's got that covered," Reynard said.

As for what Reynard will do without his soul?

"Hopefully, search the vast spoils of America looking for something else to fill the void," Reynard said. "Maybe fill it with chili or something."