 On Thursday, December 4,2003, the SCDOT officials brought a copy of the easement to the Bixby home and informed the Bixby's that they would act on the easement and take 20 feet of land and that the Bixbys had the option to buy additional footage for the nominal consideration of $1.Rita and Arthur wrote a letter to numerous state officials which closed quoting Patrick Henry ("Give me liberty, or give me death!Death is not the worst of evils."