http://nobravery.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

The Wild Child -- Starter of riots and near riots.

WalMart -- the site of latest near riot by the Wild Child.

In the enclosed photos, the line of shoppers and the empty shelves are similar to the situation in Walmart.
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Tropical Storm Edouard was due to strike the Galveston area on Aug. 5, 2008. On the day before, eldest daughter Wild Child and I had numerous appointments and errands to run all over Houston. The day was hot and muggy and driving was miserable.

The A/C in the van is out, the driver's side window doesn't roll down (the little motor thingy fell down inside with a resounding clatter so that usually means $$$) so the only source of ventilation is the passenger side window and 2 tiny vents at the rear. No cross ventilation so the interior of the van gets to the melting point for people inside during Houston's 3 digit temps. This fact alone contributes to stress and short tempers.

The day was an exercise in frustrations and annoyances. Tropical Storm Eduoard was forecast to make landfall at Galveston the next A.M. which meant Houston would catch it. It is always wise to have a storm stockpile of survival goods and I had none. The Wild Child was going to spend the storm with me and it was about 9 p.m. by the time we completed other errands and business and arrived at a super Wal Mart to dash in for survival supplies. It was in an unfamiliar neighborhood and we were unacquainted with the layout of the store.

Already hassled and stressed, boiling hot and sweating, we found that literally hundreds of other shoppers had the same idea. The store was jam-packed, half the shelves were empty and we couldn't find anything we needed. At one point there was a long line of people queued up to fill 5 gallon containers with water from a kiosk. Which was fine, as the queue was to the side of the aisle, except the people waiting, INCLUDING ADULTS AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES, had spread out into the aisle SITTING DOWN ON THE FLOOR HAVING A LATE NIGHT PICNIC LUNCH, completely blocking the aisle. Polite "excuse me" had no effect; they stared round eyed with total lack of comprehension as they did not speak English. We were forced to backtrack to a side aisle and go up several aisles to get to the area we wanted.


When I say shelves were empty, I mean EMPTY, as bad as during the Cuban Crisis.Plus we could not locate the areas where some items might be found. Those mega marts are HUGE! So were the crowds. We were growing more and more frustrated attempting to find the items we needed. The Wild Child's grumblings and rumblings were getting louder and louder, a little more profane, and she was impervious to my shusshes. She has a short fuse for frustrations anyway and she hates crowds. She put her hands on her hips and bellowed, "Are there any Wal Mart employees on duty here?" or something to that effect. The only attention she got was stares from other shoppers. Employees were not to be found.

At another point she demanded, "Where in hell did all these people come from?" then answered her own question, "Oh, I know! From across the border!" Probably quite true for about 80% of the shoppers, but not a politic thing to say. Houston has a population of about 1 million illegal immigrants but when in a horde of non-English speaking adults, we are not supposed to note that they are probably not Hispanic-Americans.

We have emergency generators in our apt bldg for the elderly and handicapped but they only provide power to essential areas, not to our individual apartments. Also, all appliances are electric and our power seems to go out regularly during a mere Houston gully-washer, frog strangler thunder storm. Hurricanes and Tropical Storms increase the odds of a power outage, likely to be prolonged, sometimes for days or even weeks if there is a lot of damage. During one 6 hour outage, I "cooked dinner" by holding frozen tater tots impaled with toothpicks over a candle flame. I found this quite unsatisfactory so wanted to purchase a one burner camp stove with gas bottles as fuel. and a similar coleman lantern. Since I live in an apartment, 7th floor in an elderly and handicapped facility, it would be dangerous in the extreme to use gasoline powered items. Gas bottles were essential.

We could not locate the proper department to find these items and could not find an employee to assist us. Finally Wild Child found a pair of women employees happily yattering in Spanish to each other. She stood politely for a few minutes, waiting to be acknowledged. A couple of "excuse me"s failed to get their attention. Finally she boomed, "Do either of you speak ENGLISH?" Insulted, they avowed they did, so she asked where Sporting Goods could be found. One waved her hand lanquidly encompassing the direction of the entire rear of the store and began chattering to her companion again. Wild Child held her ground and demanded, "Will you SHOW us, PLEASE!" only it did not sound like a polite request. The woman, acting very disgruntled, then led us to the proper department but left without trying to help us find what we needed.

We wandered up and down sporting goods and finally found a few remaining stoves and lanterns - but no gas bottles. Wild Child went on another search and seizure expedition, trying to locate an employee to help us. A young black stock boy allowed himself to be seized but could locate no gas bottles either. The appliances were useless without gas bottles.

This was after numerous misadventures too long to relate and Wild Child was steaming.No, she was boiling. Her rumblings, grumblings and profanity were steadily increasing but as yet personal, not public. I was exhausted from the day's travails and the heat we'd experienced all day, worried that she was on the verge of a truly volcanic explosion , and I was ready to call survival supplies a lost cause. We headed for the checkout aisle.

It was mass and mad pandemonium. There were TWO "20 items or less" checkouts open and TWO regular checkouts open. The lines of waiting shoppers stretched almost to the rear of the store! Literally hundreds! Adults chattered and griped, babies wailed, and little children ran like crazed chickens in and out of the lines, shrieking in play and bumping into people and baskets.


Oh crap! The Wild Child took off like a charging bull, stomping to the front of the store. She collared a male employee and demanded to see the Manager. He spoke virtually no English either and said she was either on the "potty" or the "podium". Wild Child terrified the poor man by slamming her hand down on an empty checkout stand, her heavy Harley Davidson bracelet made a noise like a gunshot, and she demanded to see the Manager. He forgot what little English he knew and just jibbered in Spanish.

I KNEW it was time to get "the hell out of Dodge" but we really needed what items we had managed to find. I started sorting them into my wheelchair basket and her shopping basket and ended with 20 items in each. I suggested to her that we get in the "20 items" checkout lines as they were shorter. After an interminable wait in line we finally made it to the cash register. The cashier was checking out the person in front of us. Wild Child loaded her 20 items onto the conveyor belt. As we waited, we noted a sign saying "Cash only; no ATM or Credit Cards". Exasperated, Wild Child asked if I had enough cash with me, as I usually use my ATM card. (I try not to carry much cash; I'm too old to run or fight if confronted by hoodlums who view old people as easy pickings). A quick check in my wallet revealed that I had sufficient cash.

With escape from the ordeal in view, The Wild Child had simmered down a bit but was still loud in her remarks about "Cash Only" and question about my cash on hand. Since she was standing right by the cashier's conveyor belt and had piled her 20 items on the belt, the cashier was well aware that she was ready to check out. The woman said nothing until she finished with the customer ahead of us, then turned to Wild Child and announced that she was closed.

Ye Gods! The eruption was no ordinary little old Mt. St. Helens nor even a Vesuvius explosion. It was a supervolcanic blowout. With one arm she scooped the entire pile of groceries down the conveyor and scattered them all over the cashier's doodad that checks bar codes, all the while venting her rage and frustration and opinion of the entire mess in an exceedingly loud voice. Rather profanely too. Customers in line within earshot, and that encompassed a LOT of them, began calling out comments in response to her tirade.

I knew I had to get her out, out, OUT - NOW!! As I struggled to get to my feet from the electric wheelchair and stand with my cane, the Manager, who had been noticible by her absence and failure to come to Wild Child's demands to see her, suddenly appeared as if by magic, charging through people and around the cashier's stand.

Are you familiar with the tactic called "walk up on" someone? It is an intimidation tactic, often employed by some people but especially used by gang bangers and other toughs. You approach someone in a very aggressive manner, walking hard and fast, with a hostile expression. With her fists clenched but arms at her side, this little Hispanic Manager pulled that on the Wild Child. Wrong! If she thought this was some pansy assed Gringo that was going to cower back in fear, she was mistaken. The Wild Child has been around the mulberry bush a time or two and she knew the score.

Instead of retreating, the Wild Child stomped forward, "walking up on" the Manager, and gritted at her, "Don't you walk up on me, Bitch! I'll whip your mother f***ing ass all over this store." It was the Manager who stepped back but she glared her hate, rage and humiliation. She had been shamed by being forced to back down in front of employees and the public and she did not like it one bit. Wild Child voiced her considerable displeasure, her opinion of the Manager's abilities by keeping so few employees on duty during an emergency, how the store was run, etc. etc. etc. and she would never shop there again, c'mon Mama let's go, we're leaving, and so on at length, exceedingly loud and admittedly profanely as I hobbled past her, urging her out!

Once the Manager saw that we were leaving, she began ordering us out, trying to gain the upper hand. Crap! That set Wild Child off again and naturally she just had to have the last word. Surprisingly enough, when the two security guards appeared, they scarcely glanced at us, just held the Manager's shoulder saying, "Chill! Chill out!". I thought that odd until I noticed one of them stifling a grin. Made me wonder about the nature of the relationship between the Manager and the employees. Strange.

I do not move very quickly nor well but due to the huge crowd of people stocking up on emergency supplies, we had had to park wa-a-a-y back of the parking lot. By the time we reached the van, we could hear police sirens screaming from both ends of Wallisville Road. I think the power steering pump on the van is going out because it leaks the fluid. Surely enough, as we tried to make our getaway, the darn van went grrowll grrrowl and we had to put fluid in it.

Finally out of the parking lot (as police neared) a pickup truck began honking at us. Wild Child was still on a tear and at that, she tried to leap out to go beat up the man's hood. Fortunately the seat belt restrained her long enough for me to punch it and gain too much speed for her to get out. The man kept honking and Wild Child was mouthing obscenities, still struggling with her seat belt latch. I noticed I had failed to turn on my head lights (my mind was a tad preoccupied) and understood why the man was honking. That got Wild Child tickled and she started laughing at herself - wanting to beat up a man's hood for being helpful and warning us. We escaped safely for which I was quite grateful. I have never been in jail and would like to maintain the status quo until I depart this earthly coil. Also, I didn't want to contemplate my son's reaction if he had to come downtown to bail his sister out of jail, but also his MOTHER!! In such an event, I'm sure the Wild Child would prefer to remain in jail rather than face her brother's wrath.

Then after all this, the blasted storm veered off and didn't hit us.

As usual, in due time she cooled off and then was embarrassed and ashamed of herself for her intemperate behavior. Although I agreed with every point she made, I was somewhat embarrassed also. I do not like huge hullaballoos like that as a rule. I did not chastise her, however. I just told her, "Next time we go somewhere together, will you please remember to TAKE YOUR DAMNED MEDICATIONS!!!"

Some Bipolars calm down in middle age and Wild Child is one of those. She is normally much less volatile now but she does have her moments. Especially if she doesn't take her medicine plus gets too stressed. Her tantrums are often (but not always!) due to a Bipolar episode but her mischief is just The Wild Child, and her mischief can be doozies. She can pull some stunts just because she thinks it's funny. She is an exasperating offspring but I love her dearly - no matter how much she embarrasses me. She is popular and very well liked by her peers and friends, too. Everyone just accepts her as a character. They shrug, laugh and say, "Oh well, that's just Rose Marie." (Rose Marie is one of her aliases. )

Related Post:

Wild Child Nearly Incites a Riot at VA

Labels: wild child - near riot at WalMart

Labels: new life at farmette

To All My Loved Ones

IF I KNEW If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day, well I'm sure you'll have so many more so I can let just this one slip away. For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight, and we always get a second chance to make everything right. There will always be another day to say our," I love you's," And certainly there's another chance to say our. " Anything I can do's?" But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get, I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike, And today may be the last chance You get to hold your loved one tight. So if you're waiting for tomorrow,why not do it today For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day, That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss and you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last Wish. So always hold them dear. Take time to say I'm sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, or It's okay. And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today. Written By: © Author Unknown

Labels: if i knew...

I often post my age as "nine years older than God" but actually I did not exist at the time of the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic. I was born and reared rurally on the flat coastal plain bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Country born and country reared, I knew little of city life at that stage of my life. But I was country wise and capable of safely navigating the woods and country areas.

One year I went to the central Texas Hill Country to spend the summer and one school semester with my maternal grand parents at their farm, their first retirement home. The hills were rocky and heavily wooded; the area was sparsely settled and small villages were few and far between. Attending school required about a 20 0r 25 mile bus ride to the nearest real town. I spent happy days horseback riding or roaming the hills with a small .22 rifle and our big dog. Those days were an education in themselves, sometimes quiet and uneventful, sometimes filled with exciting discoveries.

Once I came upon a burned down log cabin, its origin revealed by a few scraps of burnt logs and a fireplace, its still erect chimney pointing forlornly to the tree tops. Blackened shards of glazed pottery, kitchen utensils, a rusted kettle and other artifacts told sad stories of the family that once lived there.

Twin giant evergreens planted an either side of the large rectangular rock that had served as a stoop had far outgrown their intended decorative function so that access to the door would have been impossible. They must have been small when the fire occurred or else they would have been severely damaged or killed by the heat. Domestic perennial plants grown wild and rampant around the yard evidenced that flower beds had once graced the homestead. I deduced that a woman had been one of the residents there. I returned a number of times, prowling around the ruins but finally a continued feeling of sadness drove me away.

Although my grandparents were newcomers to the territory, they attended the tiny local Baptist Church and had been advised of much local history and stories. Church ladies are often great gossipers. I told Grandmother about the burned cabin and she related the history about it.It had been destroyed half a century before and the people never returned to re-build it. It was a very sad story. I gave a great deal of thought about the woman who had resided there, so far back in the hills, and how she had tried to beautify her lonely existence in the cedar breaks by digging and planting in that hard, rocky soil. I thought of the labor carrying buckets of water from the creek to water the plantings, which indicated how she cherished flowers. During the times I prowled around that old homestead, picking up bits of artifacts, she became very real to me and I felt like I knew her.

I became frightened in the hills and breaks only once. Even the dog was frightened. I believed that a horrible Indian massacre had occurred in that lovely glade, but that's another story for another time.


I chanced upon an old abandoned cemetery with tombstones dating back into the previous century and probably back to the time of the early settlers to that part of Texas. Some of the tombstones were professionally made but some were merely slabs of flat rock that someone had chiseled names and dates into them. Some were so old and weathered that the inscriptions were not discernible. The cemetery was overgrown with hard scrabble weeds and some of the tombstones were leaning precipitously. I felt sorry for the little neglected piece of history and began hauling a shovel, hoe and rake up there to do cleanup. It was a peaceful place with wind soughing through the cedars and birds singing in the trees. I spent many hours pulling weeds, hoeing, raking and digging. I dug deep, narrow trenches around the tilted tombstones, shored them up with wedged in stones and hard packed dirt. I enjoyed the hot, sweaty labor and had a tremendous feeling of accomplishment as I finally surveyed the clean, neat cemetery.

I noted that a disproportionate number of the stones were death dated in 1918 or 1919. Even though history says that the hardest hit by the pandemic were young adults, people of all ages succumbed to the disease. There were many graves of babies and children. The area was sparsely settled at my time and I knew the population had to be even smaller and more isolated in the 1900s. So why so many deaths at one time? [ Even in the census of 2007, the population of Belton, the largest town to which country children were bussed to school,was only17,330.]

I was aware of death; death by disease - whooping cough, diptheria, even measles (one of my uncles almost died in a measles epidemic (NOT pandemic) that scourged the countryside when I was a child); death by accidents - drownings, farm accidents, bull goring, snake bites, infections, etc.. But I had no knowledge of mass deaths outside of war. I asked my Grandmother about so many, many deaths in 1918-1919. As was the wont of old people back then, she began with, "well, Honey, back in nineteen and eighteen..." and she told me about the terrible number of people who perished in the influenza pandemenic. I knew of how a disease could flash through the countryside as in the measles epidemic, but such losses as in a pandemic was incomprehensible to me.

Also I puzzled over how the disease was transmitted so readily, especially in a population so sparse and scattered back in the Texas Hill Country in that era. In 1918 the town was scarcely more than a village. ["Belton was founded in 1850, and in early years grew as a rustic trading center for nearby farms and ranches. The first merchant sold goods from his wagon before any stores were built; first “saloon” was a barrel of whiskey and a tin cup under a shade tree. A stagecoach line served the village, and cowboys herding longhorns up to the Chisholm Trail enjoyed rest stops in Belton."] One source of contagion may have been the children bussed to the town school where they became infected. Country men (and rarely the women) might go to town a few times a month where they would be exposed to larger numbers of people. In that era, the hill folk used horse and wagons as primary transportation and 20 or more miles to town was arduous over twisting, up-and down-hill, rough, rocky roads. In town were traders, stage teamsters and passengers, and cowboys arriving from other areas; all could bring contagion with them.And ofcourse, members of the little hill country churches congregated on Sundays and other days of worship and social events, passing the disease around. The Influenza virus was virulent and easily transmitted as witnessed by the number of dead in an isolated part of the country with a low number of population.

If a pandemic arises today, just think of the contagion in today's multi-thousand or million population cities and the number of people entering and leaving every day. Schools can be closed, sporting events, movie houses and other places where people tend to congregate can be closed. But still, people have to work in order to draw paychecks to live on. Foodstuffs and supplies must be purchased.

Mexico is hardest hit so far. It isn't mentioned in the news yet (that I have heard) but can we discount the possibility of frightened Mexicans fleeing their country to United States to take refuge with family or friends here --and bringing the virus with them? It is human nature to flee danger and to try to protect their families. We feel compassion for them but can we risk possible contagion?

Bush established dictatorial powers for the presidency including declaring Martial Law in case of emergencies, forcing citizens to remain in certain areas up to and including isolating them in camps. A Pandemic is an emergency, quarantining is necessary, preventing carrying the virus to other areas is needful -- would Obama exercise the powers set up by Bush in order to protect the nation??

This is a serious danger to our people and to the nation. Everyone should read and heed the advice disseminated by the CDC and the government. Be as safe as possible and hope this threat fizzles out like the Bird Flu did.

Article below in next post.

Labels: pandemic

Captain James Harlow dedicated 30 years of his life protecting and serving the citizens of Houston and could have retired this year.


Rookie Firefighter Damion Hobbs survived a 14 month tour of duty, returned to fulfill his dream of becoming a firefighter. He completed training, was posted to Station 26 and perished in his first fire.
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Fire Fighters worldwide have a special bond between them as Brothers. Those fire fightes who serve in the same station develope an especially close bond. Due to the long hours on duty, families spend a great deal of time at the stations. so everyone gets to know each other very well.

In 1979-1980 my son-in-law, C.G. "Ski" Ubernosky, husband of my daughter, Dorothy, served at the same station with Captain Harlow. Over the years they each served at different stations as they climbed their career ladders but retained the brotherly bond. Both attained the rank of Captain in the Houston Fire Department. C.G. retired several years ago but James was still on active duty. He could have retired this years with 30 years in.

In '79 or '80 a drunk rear ended Dorothy's little Z-28 sports car at a red light as she was going home from work. The impact was so great it broke the driver's seat loose from its moorings, causing it to fall backwards, flat on the floorboards. Dorothy was pinned flat also. Because of shock and her injuries and the fact that the driver's door was crushed shut, she could not extricate herself from the wreckage.

James Harlow was one of the first responders to the wreck and recognized the car as belonging to Ski's wife. He ran to the car, calling out, "Mrs. Ski! Oh, Mrs. Ski!" and wormed his way inside the car. He attended to her injuries, calmed and comforted her until her husband arrived and she was taken away by ambulance.

When the TV news reported Captain Harlow's death, C.G. wept.

I live in an apartment complex reserved for the elderly and handicapped. It is in the jurisdiction of Station 26 and they are called here often for emergency help to the old people. They have attended me and took me to hospital several times and once to help me get up after I had fallen. The firefighters and paramedics were always kind and professional. It was grievous to have 2 of them perish.

More posts below on this tragedy.

Labels: firefighters perish in LOD

Labels: Hobbs Killed LOD HFD, Watson

Two fallen firefighters remembered in Houston procession

Firefighters took different paths to tragic end

Labels: lod hfd deaths

On Thursday the Houston Fire Department honored two of their comrades killed in the line of duty. Hundreds marched along the Gulf Freeway feeder road to Grace Community Church. Video by Jason Witmer, Meg Loucks and Julio Cortez. April 16, 2009

Labels: firetrucks colision - photos for post below

Video (large):
http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/07/templates/listpop.html?bcpid=823433113&bctid=18010118001

As many as 11 people, including eight firefighters, have been taken to hospitals after two Houston Fire Department trucks collided and one of them flipped onto a car in the Montrose area. Video by Jason Witmer and Meg Loucks. March 30, 2009.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6349761.html

Labels: firetrucks collision-houston

http://www.essortment.com/all/boudicca_reez.htm

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video;Boadicea

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Boudica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boudica (also spelled Boudicca, formerly known as Boadicea, and known in Welsh as "Buddug")^[1] (d. AD 60 or 61) was a queen of the Iceni tribe of what is now known as East Anglia in England, who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.

Boudica's husband, Prasutagus, an Icenian king who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will. However, when he died his will was ignored. The kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped, and Roman financiers called in their loans.

In AD 60 or 61, while the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign on the island of Anglesey in north Wales, Boudica led the Iceni, along with the Trinovantes and others, in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (Colchester), formerly the capital of the Trinovantes, but now a colonia (a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers) and the site of a temple to the former emperor Claudius, built and maintained at local expense, and routed a Roman legion, the IX Hispana, sent to relieve the settlement.

On hearing the news of the revolt, Suetonius hurried to Londinium (London), the twenty-year-old commercial settlement which was the rebels' next target, but concluding he did not have the numbers to defend it, evacuated and abandoned it. It was burnt to the ground, as was Verulamium (St Albans). An estimated 70,000-80,000 people were killed in the three cities. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces in the West Midlands, and despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated Boudica in the Battle of Watling Street. The crisis had led the emperor Nero to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from the island, but Suetonius's eventual victory over Boudica secured Roman control of the province.

The history of these events, as recorded by Tacitus^[2] and Cassius Dio,^[3] were rediscovered during the Renaissance and led to a resurgence of Boudica's legendary fame during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria was portrayed as her "namesake". Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom. The absence of native British literature during the early part of the first millennium means that Britain owes its knowledge of Boudica's rebellion to the writings of the Romans.

History

Boudica's name

Until the late twentieth century, Boudica was known as Boadicea, which is probably derived from a mistranscription when a manuscript of Tacitus was copied in the Middle Ages. Her name takes many forms in various manuscripts–Boadicea and Boudicea in Tacitus; Βουδουικα, Βουνδουικα, and Βοδουικα in Dio–but almost certainly, it was originally Boudicca or Boudica, and is the Proto-Celtic feminine adjective *boudīka, "victorious", derived from the Celtic word *bouda, "victory" (cf. Irish bua (Classical Irish buadh), Buaidheach, Welsh buddugoliaeth). The name is attested in inscriptions as "Boudica" in Lusitania, "Boudiga" in Bordeaux, and "Bodicca" in Britain.^[4] Based on later development of Welsh and Irish, Kenneth Jackson concludes that the correct spelling of the name in Brythonic is Boudica, pronounced [bɒʊˈdiːkaː]^[5] (the closest English equivalent to the vowel in the first syllable is the ow in "bow-and-arrow"). The modern English pronunciation is IPA: /ˈbuːdɪkə/.^[6]

Background

Tacitus and Dio agree that Boudica was of royal descent. Dio says that she was "possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women", that she was tall, had long red hair down to her hips, a harsh voice and a piercing glare, and habitually wore a large golden necklace (perhaps a torc), a many-coloured tunic, and a thick cloak fastened by a brooch.

Her husband, Prasutagus, was the king of Iceni, people who inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk. They initially were not part of the territory under direct Roman control, having voluntarily allied themselves to Rome following Claudius's conquest of AD 43. They were jealous of their independence and had revolted in AD 47 when the then-governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, threatened to disarm them.^[7] Prasutagus lived a long life of conspicuous wealth, and, hoping to preserve his line, made the Roman emperor co-heir to his kingdom along with his wife and two daughters.

It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their client king, who would agree to leave his kingdom to Rome in his will: the provinces of Bithynia^[8] and Galatia,^[9] for example, were incorporated into the Empire in just this way. Roman law also allowed inheritance only through the male line. So when Prasutagus died his attempts to preserve his line were ignored and his kingdom was annexed as if it had been conquered. Lands and property were confiscated and nobles treated like slaves. According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped. Dio Cassius says that Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, chose this time to call in their loans. Tacitus does not mention this, but does single out the procurator, Catus Decianus, for criticism for his "avarice". Prasutagus, it seems, had lived well on borrowed Roman money, and on his death his subjects had become liable for the debt.

Boudica's uprising

In AD 60 or 61, while the current governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign against the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) in north Wales, which was a refuge for British rebels and a stronghold of the druids, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, amongst others, to revolt. Boudica was chosen as their leader. According to Tacitus, they drew inspiration from the example of Arminius, the prince of the Cherusci who had driven the Romans out of Germany in AD 9, and their own ancestors who had driven Julius Caesar from Britain.^[10] Dio says that at the outset Boudica employed a form of divination, releasing a hare from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction in which it ran, and invoked Andraste, a British goddess of victory. Perhaps it is significant that Boudica's own name means "victory" (see above).

The rebels' first target was Camulodunum (Colchester), the former Trinovantian capital and now a Roman colonia. The Roman veterans who had been settled there mistreated the locals, and a temple to the former emperor Claudius had been erected there at local expense, making the city a focus for resentment. The Roman inhabitants of the city sought reinforcements from the procurator, Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred auxiliary troops. Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it, besieging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. Archaeologists have shown that the city was methodically demolished.^[11] The future governor Quintus Petillius Cerialis, then commanding the Legio IX Hispana, attempted to relieve the city, but suffered an overwhelming defeat. His infantry was wiped out; only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. Catus Decianus fled to Gaul.

When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius hurried along Watling Street through hostile territory to Londinium (London). Londinium was a relatively new town, founded after the conquest of 43 AD, but it had grown to be a thriving commercial centre with a population of travellers, traders, and probably, Roman officials. Suetonius considered giving battle there, but considering his lack of numbers and chastened by Petillius's defeat, decided to sacrifice the city to save the province. Londinium was abandoned to the rebels, who burnt it down, slaughtering anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius. Archaeology shows a thick red layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before 60 AD within the bounds of the Roman city.^[12] Verulamium (St Albans) was next to be destroyed.

In the three cities destroyed, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Tacitus says the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Dio's account gives more prurient detail: that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.

Romans rally

Suetonius regrouped with the XIV Gemina, some vexillationes (detachments) of the XX Valeria Victrix, and any available auxiliaries. The prefect of Legio II Augusta, Poenius Postumus, ignored the call, but nonetheless the governor was able to call on almost ten thousand men. He took a stand at an unidentified location, probably in the West Midlands somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street, in a defile with a wood behind him. But his men were heavily outnumbered. Dio says that, even if they were lined up one deep, they would not have extended the length of Boudica's line: by now the rebel forces numbered 230,000. However, this number should be treated with scepticism: Dio's account is known only from a late epitome, and ancient sources commonly exaggerate enemy numbers.

Boudica exhorted her troops from her chariot, her daughters beside her. Tacitus gives her a short speech in which she presents herself not as an aristocrat avenging her lost wealth, but as an ordinary person, avenging her lost freedom, her battered body, and the abused chastity of her daughters. Their cause was just, and the deities were on their side; the one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, was resolved to win or die; if the men wanted to live in slavery, that was their choice.

However, the lack of maneuverability of the British forces, combined with lack of open-field tactics to command these numbers, put them at a disadvantage to the Romans, who were skilled at open combat due to their superior equipment and discipline, and the narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could only put forth as many troops as the Romans could at a given time.

First, the Romans stood their ground and used volleys of pila (heavy javelins) to kill thousands of Britons who were rushing toward the Roman lines. The Roman soldiers, who had now used up their pila, were then able to engage Boudica's second wave in the open. As the Romans advanced in a wedge formation, the Britons attempted to flee, but were impeded by the presence of their own families, whom they had stationed in a ring of wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered. This is not the first instance of this tactic. The women of the Cimbri, in the Battle of Vercellae against Gaius Marius, were stationed in a line of wagons and acted as a last line of defence;^[13] Ariovistus of the Suebi is reported to have done the same thing in his battle against Julius Caesar.^[14] Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. According to Tacitus, Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, and was given a lavish burial.

Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword. Catus Decianus, who had fled to Gaul, was replaced by Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus. Suetonius conducted punitive operations, but criticism by Classicianus led to an investigation headed by Nero's freedman Polyclitus. Fearing Suetonius' actions would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced the governor with the more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus.^[15] The historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus tells us the crisis had almost persuaded Nero to abandon Britain.^[16]

Location of her defeat

The location of Boudica's defeat is unknown. Most historians favour a site in the West Midlands, somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street. Kevin K. Carroll suggests a site close to High Cross in Leicestershire, on the junction of Watling Street and the Fosse Way, which would have allowed the Legio II Augusta, based at Exeter, to rendezvous with the rest of Suetonius's forces, had they not failed to do so.^[17] Manduessedum (Mancetter), near the modern day town of Atherstone in Warwickshire, has also been suggested.^[18] More recently a new discovery of Roman artifacts in Kings Norton close to Metchley Camp has suggested another possibility.^[19]

Historical sources

Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of this period, took a particular interest in Britain as Gnaeus Julius Agricola, his father-in-law and the subject of his first book, served there three times. Agricola was a military tribune under Suetonius Paulinus, which almost certainly gave Tacitus an eyewitness source for Boudica's revolt. Cassius Dio's account is only known from an epitome, and his sources are uncertain. He is generally agreed to have based his account on that of Tacitus, but he simplifies the sequence of events and adds details, such as the calling in of loans, that Tacitus does not mention.

It is possible that Gildas, in his 6th century polemic De Excidio Britanniae, alludes to Boudica in his typically oblique fashion as a "treacherous lioness", although his general lack of knowledge about the real history of the Roman conquest of Britain makes this far from certain.^[20]

Cultural depictions

History and literature

By the Middle Ages Boudica was forgotten. She makes no appearance in Bede's work, the Historia Brittonum, the Mabinogion or Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain. But the rediscovery of the works of Tacitus during the Renaissance allowed Polydore Virgil to reintroduce her into British history as "Voadicea" in 1534.^[21] Raphael Holinshed also included her story in his Chronicles (1577), based on Tacitus and Dio,^[22] and inspired Shakespeare's younger contemporaries Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher to write a play, Bonduca, in 1610.^[23] William Cowper wrote a popular poem, Boadicea, an ode, in 1782.^[24]

It was in the Victorian era that Boudica's fame took on legendary proportions as Queen Victoria was seen to be Boudica's "namesake". Victoria's Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote a poem, Boadicea,^[25] and several ships were named after her. A great bronze statue of Boudica with her daughters in her war chariot (furnished with scythes after the Persian fashion) was commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft. It was completed in 1905 and stands next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, with the following lines from Cowper's poem, referring to the British Empire:

Regions Caesar never knew
Thy posterity shall sway.

Ironically, the great anti-imperialist rebel was now identified with the head of the British Empire, and her statue stood guard over the city she razed to the ground.^[26]

In more recent times, Boudica has been the subject of numerous documentaries, including some by Discovery Channel, History International Channel, and the BBC.

Fiction

Boudica has been the subject of two feature films, the 1928 film Boadicea, where she was portrayed by Phyllis Neilson-Terry, ^[27] and 2003's Boudica (Warrior Queen in the USA), a UK TV film written by Andrew Davies and starring Alex Kingston as Boudica. ^[28] A new film is planned for release in 2010 entitled Warrior, written by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, directed by Gavin O'Connor, and produced by Mel Gibson.^[29] She has also been the subject of a 1978 British TV series, Warrior Queen, starring Sian Phillips as Boudica. Jennifer Ward-Lealand portrayed Boudica in an episode of Xena - Warrior Princess entitled "The Deliverer" in 1997.

Boudica's story is the subject of several novels, including books by Rosemary Sutcliff, Pauline Gedge, Manda Scott, Alan Gold, Diana L. Paxson, David Wishart, George Shipway, and J. F. Broxholme (a pseudonym of Duncan Kyle). One of the viewpoint characters of Ian Watson's novel "Oracle" is an eyewitness to her defeat. She has also appeared in several comic book series, including the Sláine, which featured two runs, entitled "Demon Killer" and "Queen of Witches" giving a free interpretation of Boudica's story. Other comic appearances include Witchblade and From Hell. Additionally, in the alternate history novel "Ruled Britannia" by Harry Turtledove, Boudicca is the subject of a play written by William Shakespeare to incite the people of Britain to revolt against Spanish conquerors.

Henry Purcell's last major work, composed in 1695, was music for play entitled "Bonduca, or the British Heroine" (Z. 574). Selections include "To Arms", "Britons, Strike Home" and "O lead me to some peaceful gloom". Boudica has also been the primary subject of songs by Irish singer/songwriter Enya, Dutch soprano Petra Berger, Scottish singer/songwriter Steve McDonald, English metal band Bal-Sagoth, Faith and the Muse and Dreams in the Witching House. She has also been mentioned in The Libertines' song The Good Old Days.

Other cultural references

There have been scattered reports that the restless spirit of Boudica has been seen in the county of Lincolnshire. These reports, dating back to the mid-19th century, claim Boudica rides her chariot, heading for some unknown destination, and many a traveller and motorist have claimed to have seen her. ^[30]

There is also a long-lived urban myth that she is buried under Platform 10 of King's Cross railway station in London.^[31] This originates from the village of Battle Bridge (previously on the station's site), which was said to be the site of her last battle, suicide and burial. This is now accepted as a fiction and a hoax, whose origins can be traced back to Lewis Spence's book 'Boadicea - Warrior Queen of the Britons (1937) (where it is given but unevidenced)^[32] or earlier.^[33] It is now thought that Battle Bridge was a corruption of 'Broad Ford Bridge'. Other such legends place her burial on Parliament Hill, Hampstead or in Suffolk.

In 2003, an LTR retrotransposon from the genome of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni was named Boudica.^[34]

She appeared as a World Leader in Civilization II as Boadicea, and in Civilization IV's expansion Beyond the Sword, Boudica is added as a leader of the Celtic Civilization, along with Brennus.

In the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley the title character is named Boadicea Geraldine Granger.^[35]

On her 1987 debut album, the Irish singer Enya performs the song "Boadicea".

Various female politicians, including former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark have been called Boadicea. ^[36]

References

Further reading

• Guy de la Bédoyère, 'Bleeding from the Roman Rods: Boudica' in Defying Rome. The Rebels of Roman Britain, Tempus, Stroud, 2003
• Vanessa Collingridge; Boudica, Ebury, London, 2004
• Richard Hingley & Christina Unwin, Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen, 2004
• Manfred Böckl: Die letzte Königin der Kelten. (The last Queen of the Celts). Novel telling the life of the Iceni-Queen Boadicea in German language. (Rights: Aufbau Verlag, Berlin, Germany, 2005.)
• Joseph E. Roesch, Boudica, Queen of The Iceni (London, Robert Hale Ltd, 2006).
• Andrew Godsell "Boadicea: A Woman's Resolve" in "Legends of British History" (2008)

See also

• List of women warriors in folklore, literature, and popular culture

External links

• James Grout: Boudica, part of the Encyclopædia Romana
• Trying to Rule Britannia; BBC; 6 August 2004
• Iceni at Roman-Britain.org
• Iceni at Romans in Britain
• Boadicea may have had her chips on site of McDonald's by Nick Britten
• PBS Boudica / Warrior Queen website
• Warrior queens and blind critics - article on the 2004 film King Arthur which discusses Boudica
• 24 Hour Museum trail
• Channel 4 History - In Boudica's Footsteps

Labels: boudica

I get along fairly well with most insects and arachnids. I dislike and usually destroy harmful creatures that invade the living space of my family, such as flies, ticks, fleas, scorpions, poisonous spiders and snakes. Others, I adopt a live and let live policy.

I like many spiders and have even cohabited with a few. Two predacious spiders - a fuzzy black one with green mouth parts and a slender, smooth beige spider with brownish stripes. These two did not spin annoying webs that had to be swept down. Rather, they stalked their prey and rid my house of any undesirable insect that managed to get in . My daughters went into shrieking frenzies when they spotted one but I forbade them to kill the beneficial creatures.

When working in my gardens I often encountered yard spiders, usually wolf spiders, fairly large blackish-brown arachnids. Sometimes the mother spiders would bear hundreds of spiderlings on her back. I'd shoo her away with my trowel. If she left me alone, I left her alone. They are beneficial creatures and help rid the gardens of damaging insects.

My tolerance of spiders did not extend to a particular, colorful large Garden Spider that built large webs marked by a zig-zag heavier white pattern that resembled sewing stitches. For some reason I cannot fathom, I hated that kind of spider and slaughtered every one I found. They were benign and beneficial spiders but I bore an unreasonable fear and disgust for them. A grandson was bitten by one and said the bite was painful, but the bite caused no damage to him.
The largest spider of this type that I ever saw appeared to be about 4" long; I did not know they grew that big.


The dreaded "Sewing Spider" or Garden Spider. I hate them. Brrr! They give me the shivers.
[Golden Orb Weaver spider females are large spiders that can often be seen sitting on their webs woven between the ends of trees in the woods. They typically have a thick twining of silkzig-zagging through the center vertically where they wait for prey, legs arranged in a way that sometimes resembles an “X”. The female’s body is a pattern of black and yellow or gold and she appears to be wearing long black gloves on her toothpick-like jointed legs. She is typically positioned head down and if disturbed she may bounce strongly on her web. The males are significantly smaller and may sometimes be seen on the periphery of her web, waiting for an appropriate moment when he is accepted for mating, and not considered good eating.]

Labels: spider-hated-golden orb weaver

Below: Recent photos of The Wild Child. She is no longer with Earl the Finest Pearl. She now lives alone with Scooter Bug, her small dog.

Wild Child's Chapter of the Thundering Horde
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The Wild Child has begun Blogging. It is good therapy for her to combat her dismal, depressive contemplations of her possible future. One of her blogs in progress is about her heroes.

In spite of her oneriness and occasional volcanic temper tantrums, the Wild Child is at heart an old softy and a romantic. She is deeply devoted to her heroes and they include Fire Fighters, Law Enforcement Officers, Military Personnel of all eras, people who have made great contributions to the betterment of society and everyday citizens who exhibit bravery and sacrifice for the good of others.

Military personnel are one of her favorites and she is fiercely supportive and protective of them. It doesn't matter to her if they are in active duty or if they are veterans. It doesn't matter if they were yardbirds scrubbing out garbage cans or if they were in combat on the front lines. All that matters to her is that they served. Every soldier, sailor, marine or fly-boy that took the oath and donned a uniform were there to do their duty in whatever capacity called for and were available for combat duty if necessary. In her eyes, every one is a hero.

This is the story of Papa Bear. He was the sweetie of the mother of two of her sweeties (yes, well, we won't go in to THAT soap opera right now). During her years of association with the family, she became very fond of Papa Bear and regarded him somewhat as a father-in-law. Papa Bear was rumored to have an Asian daughter somewhere, but other than that he had no known family. After he and the mother broke up, he was alone in the world.

Papa Bear was a veteran of the tail end of WW II (I think he flew B-52s), the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War when our military was sent over as "advisers". He had served his country through 3 wars/conflicts. She loved him like a father and held him in high regard as a veteran.

Papa Bear was stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease, gradually was forced to have others attend to his business and ofcourse was royally ripped off. He eventually ended up broke, dependent on income through SS and for physical care by outsiders. The Wild Child visited him often and became incensed at the shoddy care he received and how his so-called caregivers would steal the old man's money. She would put him in the bath tub, scrub his filthy body, clip his long toe-and fingernails, cut his hair. etc. , cook and feed him meals.

It wasn't long before she blew up, threw one of her volcanic temper tantrums that cowed Papa Bear's "care-givers", packed him up and took him home with her. She was a single mom of 2 young children and already having health problems of her own. She lived on a second floor walk-up and it was amazing to watch her haul Papa Bear in his wheelchair up the stairs - thump! thump! thump!- and Papa Bear jolting at every thump. She NEVER left him to lie abed all day nor go undressed. Every morning she would bathe and dress him completely in pants and shirt, thread his catheter through the pants fly and to the urine collection bag, and cover it with a lap robe. She put his early cup of coffee on his over-the-chair table and while she cooked his breakfast, one of the children would sit at his side and give him sips of coffee through a straw. Then she would spoon feed him his breakfast. She changed his diapers as gently and non-judgementally as she would have done for a baby. At all times she maintained his dignity and self respect.

Papa Bear loved to go places and to eat out. She brought him to my house many times where we'd park him in front of the TV and play movies and documentaries he loved about WWII and Korea. He especially loved documentaries about WWII planes. Once she took him to our family reunion in the Hill Country. He tried to tell her about the Edwards Plateau and the Aquifer but by then his speech was so garbled it was unintelligible. When she could afford it she would take him out to cafes or restaurants to eat, a great pleasure for him even though swallowing was becoming increasingly difficult. As a courtesy to other diners she'd get a corner table and place his back to the public; his eating habits were very sloppy in spite of her slow and careful spoon feeding. Now and then he would choke. She'd leap up, grab him in a headlock with one arm and ram her fingers down his throat to drag out the offending piece of food, the process accompanied by loud choking, gagging, slobbering sounds from him. Sometimes other diners turned green or got up and left.

But God help anyone's homesick a$$ that complained about the old man. They got an earfull from her that silenced any other comments. He enjoyed eating out, he was dying, she was determined to give him all the pleasures he wanted, and to hell with all those s.o.b.s that would be stuffing their faces long after he was gone.

She regularly took him to the VA Hospital for his checkups and endured the hours-long waits that entailed. Eventually the staff recommended hospitalizing him as his condition worsened, but he shook his head violently and pleaded with his eyes, so she refused. She said she'd keep him at home as long as possible. The tears of gratitude in his eyes were eloquent thanks enough. She did it out of love, not for thanks.

It was during one of the trips to the hospital when she nearly caused a riot at the VA. Houston's summers are very hot and the vast expanse of the VA parking lot was like a concrete oven. The Wild Child always stopped at the lobby entrance, went through the laborious process of getting Papa Bear out of the car and into his wheelchair, rolled him inside to air conditioned comfort with her young son at his side to watch over him. Then she'd go park the car and walk across the concrete oven herself. She would not subject him to that long, hot journey.

She followed this procedure on the Near-Riot Day. As she struggled to get Papa Bear out of the car, sweating and gasping with the heat and exertion, a young, officious Security Guard showed up and demanded she move her car. He announced it was a no parking zone. She retorted that she wasn't parked, just stopped to unload a patient and she would move it as soon as she got Papa Bear inside. He became very officious then and iterated his demand more sternly. Their exchanges were repeated several times as she continued trying to get Papa Bear settled in his wheelchair. The Security Guard did not know who he was messing with.

The Wild Child was a 5'1" blue eyed blonde, beginning to get a little plump with approaching middle age and deceptively sweet faced. Looks are deceiving and that Security Guard had no idea what Hell Fire lay hidden behind that innocent face and small frame. He quickly found out.
Papa Bear safely ensconced in his wheelchair, she turned on the Security Guard like a biting sow. Their dispute turned loud but she was louder. New arrivals stopped to watch and listen and some people from the lobby came out also. The confrontation attracted quite a crowd and angry mutterings and remarks were heard. Her grand finale was a scathing shout that "he's served his country through THREE wars, you little (censored), and you refuse him this? Have YOU ever served at all? You think enforcing a no parking zone reason enough to make him roll across all that way in the heat from the parking lot. Anyway, I'm not parked; I just stopped to unload a patient." etc, etc, etc. She was in full battle cry and in a fighting fury.

So was the crowd. The Security Guard began edging away and Wild Child followed him, still emitting enraged shouts. He walked faster and some of the crowd followed also, echoing Wild Child's complaints and accusations. The Security Guard fled. The enemy routed, Wild Child rolled Papa Bear into the lobby, parked him by a ficus tree with Dusty at his side, and then moved the car. The crowd milled around her, agreeing with every word she said and castigating a man who would treat a veteran that way.

The Wild Child was victorious. She has not won every battle but she has won most of those in which she has engaged. Even in the ones she lost, she got plenty of hamburger while they were getting steak.

She attended Papa Bear devotedly until 3 days before he died. He reached the point where swallowing was impossible so he needed intravenous feedings. Also, he needed oxygen and other medical aid. Both he and she wept when she had to put him in hospital. She went to visit him every day. He could not speak but she'd hold his hands and talk to him....and come home crying. On the third day he died. Since she was not a relative she had no legal status so the VA Hospital would not permit her to be involved with any death arrangements. He had no family and VA made all funeral arrangements. Only by throwing a wall eyed fit did she obtain the name of the mortuary.

The mortuary informed her that there would be no funeral, just a burial. She threw a bawling, squalling hysterical hissy fit accusing them and VA of "just going to take him out and bury him like an old dead dog!" She wailed and caterwauled until the funeral home made arrangements for a graveside service by the local VFW, complete with Military Chaplain, a 21 gun salute, and flag draped coffin. The service was attended by The Wild Child, her children, and 2 of her friends as the only mourners. But he got a funeral service! Dusty was presented with the flag from the coffin.

She can be as mean as a cross eyed snake but she has a tender, loving heart. Some people snidely accused her of doing what she did for his money. He had no money. His business had been robbed and allowed to deteriorate to nothing. He tried to get her to marry him so she could draw his Social Security as his widow when he died; she told him she didn't want his damned money, and besides, they'd have to be married 10 years or she have a child by him to get his benefits. (The law at that time; I don't know what it is now). His needs were numerous and great so his checks were spent on him. She did not benefit by taking care of him. In fact, often it cost her part of her small income . She took care of him because she loved the old man and she honored him as a veteran.

Info on Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS)



COMMENTS:

I don't mean to argue, but what Dusty did, was a "badly needed course correction." Riots SHOULD start over such behaviors as that guard!The Religious know it all's will say Dusty's going to hell because of her past actions.So am I, and I'm proud to be separated from that trash.If I get there first, I'll save ya a window seat Hon....then together we'll kick the devils ass and shape things up!:)
# posted by The Future Was Yesterday : 8/18/2008 2:57 PM
(correction = Dusty is child; Wild Child was Riot Starter)

Labels: VA hospital - near riot - veterans

I missed touring Pompeii in person in Italy but thanks to daughter The Wild Child and Marcy, I did get to see the exhibit of artifacts at the museum.

When Roy and I were in Italy, I wanted to tour Pompeii, which was just a few miles from Rome. The tickets were inexpensive for the day tour, but as usual Roy and I disagreed on matters of finance and places to see. (We were NOT good traveling companions). Roy insisted that the cost of tickets for him, me, and Jeannie (our teener daughter) plus meals would cost too much. I differed with him and the dispute became quite acrimonious. He handled the money on trips and I lost the battle. We didn't go.

On our last day in Rome, he purchased a number of bottles of liquor to smuggle into Algeria, which, if caught, would have resulted in a huge fine plus imprisonment for him and possibly me! PLUS the cost of the booze EXCEEDED the cost of tickets to Pompeii. The fight was on again in spades!! He won; I lost. The booze was safely smuggled in and he was quite proud of himself.

After we returned states side, the miniseries "The Last Days of Pompeii" aired. Some of the scenes, especially the gladiator arena, were actually shot in Pompeii. Poor Roy. After several decades of marriage to me he never learned when it was prudent to keep his mouth shut. He enjoyed the movie and exclaimed, "Gol'dang, Mama. If I'd known it was like that, I'd have gone to see it!!" Bad move. The fight was on again, with me yelling, "I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU WHAT IT WAS LIKE!!"

But now I've seen the artifacts, documentary and info at the museum. Not as good as touring the actual ruins but it was good and very interesting.

Articles about the exhibit in post below.

Aug 2008 update: Jo and Loyd are on a Mediterranean Cruise and spent a week in Rome. She IMd me last night that they had toured Pompeii. I am so very glad for her.

Video on discovery in Heraculum, sister city of Pompeii destroyed during same eruption.

heraculum



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Labels: missed pompeii - saw exhibit

Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption

On view through June 22, 2008 at the Caroline Wiess Law Building

Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, Head of an Amazon, Mid-1st century A.D.
Pompeii, Soprintendenza archeologica di Pompeii
Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption reveals the ancient world through painting, sculpture, and craft. It helps us connect with the victims whose hopes and fears were not so unlike ours today. These works of art will give viewers insight and appreciation into the worlds of the artists who made them and the owners who cherished them.

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Visit the MFAH to see the Pompeii Documentary: In the Shadow of the Vesuvius

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On August 24, 79 A.D. the world´s most famous volcano, Vesuvius, erupted with pyroclastic fury, burying the city of Pompeii in a mountain of hardened ash. In the only eye witness account, the Roman Historian Pliny the Younger, described the event:

A fearful black cloud was rent by forked and quivering bursts of flame, and parted to reveal great tongues of fire. You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men… Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness.

View the MFAH Special Presentation: Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption http://www.mfah.org/microsites/pompeii/

Fortunately for us, the darkness proved not to be eternal. In the late 1500s workers digging a canal uncovered slabs of marble and painted fresco walls. In the 1600s more ruins were unearthed. In 1763 an inscription was found that identified the town as the Pompeii written about by Pliny. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius preserved an unprecedented number of works of art and objects from daily life, as well as remains of about two thousand residents who had not fled at the first signs of trouble.

For many of Pompeii´s citizens life itself had been a form of art. They wore exquisite jewelry fashioned from gold and precious stones. The walls of the homes of the wealthy were painted with Classical themes and their owners walked on mosaics made from tiny pieces of stone and glass.

Statues of gods and goddesses adorned Pompeii´s gardens and courtyards and residents dined on decorated fine silver. For Romans, bathing was a social occasion. The large public baths featured saunas, hot tubs, cold water plunges, and a gymnasium. Massages and perfumed body wraps were popular. Lunch was served. The theater and gladiatorial contests were popular forms of public entertainment. Gladiators were seen as men of courage and often held in high regard. Some even had fan clubs. Gladiators were usually slaves or prisoners trained in combat school to perform special roles using various types of arms. If they fought well, there were sometimes awarded their freedom.

The exhibition consists of 500 objects, generally excavated in the last decade, from three famous and wealthy sites. They include marble statues, wall frescoes, gold jewelry, silver dinner service and household items, bronze household items, coins, and body casts and skeletons of inhabitants who were unable to escape.



Now Playing

Pompeii Documentary: In The Shadow of Vesuvius Free admission with a ticket to the exhibition Click below to play trailer:

1987

Color
57 Minutes

Show Times:

Wed., Jun. 18 12:30 PM

Thu., Jun. 19 10:30 AM

Thu., Jun. 19 12:30 PM

Thu., Jun. 19 2:30 PM

Fri., Jun. 20 11:30 AM

Sat., Jun. 21 10:30 AM

Sat., Jun. 21 12:30 PM

Sat., Jun. 21 2:30 PM

Sat., Jun. 21 4:30 PM

Sun., Jun. 22 12:30 PM

Sun., Jun. 22 2:30 PM

Sun., Jun. 22 4:30 PM

See this film for free when you purchase a ticket to Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption12:30 PM

Thu., Jun. 19 2:30 PM

Fri., Jun. 20 11:30 AM

Sat., Jun. 21 10:30 AM

Sat., Jun. 21 12:30 PM

Sat., Jun. 21 2:30 PM

Sat., Jun. 21 4:30 PM

Sun., Jun. 22 12:30 PM

Sun., Jun. 22 2:30 PM

Sun., Jun. 22 4:30 PM

Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption

Since the days of the Roman Empire, Italy´s Mount Vesuvius has erupted more than 50 times, devastating whole cities and towns. In A.D. 79 the volcano destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, burying people alive as they ran to escape its fury. Lost and forgotten for more than 1,600 years, the once-thriving trade center of Pompeii has been successfully uncovered by archaeologists. At Herculaneum, human skeletons were found in a fatal embrace. Although Vesuvius is sleeping now, this active volcano is never far from the minds of the two million people who live in its shadow.

The documentary unfolds as a mystery, revealing how archeologists and other experts worked from the ruins to piece together the prosperous societies that once flourished in Pompeii and Herculaneum. A vast array of artifacts are revealed, including skeletons, structures, decorative and functional objects, and even the discovery of a dining table set for a meal, preserved for nearly 2,000 years.

Many of the objects included in the MFAH exhibition Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption are featured in the film, with specialists demonstrating the techniques used to re-create life before the disaster. Most devastating is the accuracy with which scholars have determined a timeline that suggests how people spent the hours leading up to the tragedy.

Today, people living in the sprawling metropolis of Naples and the nearby fishing village of Pozzuouli remain under the threat not only of the volcano, but also of earthquakes. The documentary includes compelling scenes shot by Allied forces in 1944, following the most recent eruption of Vesuvius in the modern era. Diligent efforts of the Italian authorities are revealed, alongside the efforts of an international team of scientists who have developed seismic and oceanographic monitoring systems.

The film concludes with a lively annual ritual, the celebration of the Miracle of San Gennaro, the patron saint who protects Naples from the wrath of Mount Vesuvius.

This fascinating documentary recounts the human experience of Mount Vesuvius, past and present, with the unsettling conclusion that residents of the region will never be completely safe. Carefully researched and presented in vivid detail, it will enrich the visitor´s experience of the landmark exhibition Pompeii: Tales from an Eruption.

Labels: Pompeii Exhibit - Museum Fine Arts Houstonh Tx

Labels: mama duck-ducklings

In the early '90s my younger sister and I decided to go to Sacramento, California to a Star Trek Convention. It was as good an excuse as any to go traveling. We have relatives in Sacramento so naturally invited our Mother. my aunt and my daughter Jo along so they could visit the kinfolks. Until she got too old to drive Mother was always burning up the highways going somewhere, usually to visit our far flung relatives. She was on the go so much that our father named her the "Go-Go Girl".

Mother loved to travel but I discovered that she was a much different traveler than I was. In order to actually attend the Star Trek Convention (and why not, since we were going to be there anyway) we had to be in Sacramento by a certain date. I planned our itinerary very carefully, to exploit all the scenery and sites we could on our trip. and yet arrive in Sacramento on time.

Among other great sites like the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, the Crater, etc., the Grand Canyon was tops on the list. We had one day to spend at the Grand Canyon when I would like to have spent no less than a week. I had planned to see IMax, the museum, then tour the South Rim. So much to see and do, so little time. Up at sunrise, preparing to begin, Mother added to previous frustrations by announcing she had to have new walking shoes and demanded that my daughter Jo take her to Williamsburg to shop. They returned at almost mid-day!!

Mother sported her new walking shoes as we did IMax, then on to the mini-busses to tour the rim. At the first - FIRST - stop we exited the bus and walked to the overlook. As the rest of us gazed in awe, Mother spent about one minute looking over the rails then announced that she was ready to go, she had seen the Grand Canyon!! My sister Ruth restrained me, insisting that I could not toss our mother over the rim; Auntie volunteered to take Mother back to the car, leaving the rest of us to tour a little leisurely from overlook to overlook.

It was wonderful, even though a rushed esperience. Following are commercial photos of that great cleft in the earth.



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Labels: Grand Canyon Tour

Since very early childhood, youngest daughter Jeannie has had nightmares about tornadoes. Since she had never seen one, I couldn't imagine why she harbored such terror of one. As she grew older, she learned that our Houston thunderstorms often spawned tornadoes, so her fears included thunderstorms. Now in her late thirties, she remains terrified of storms and tornadoes and fears she will die in one. When Hurricane Rita was aimed at Texas and people evacuated the city, (Katrina was still fresh in our minds), Jeannie ran all the way to Oklahoma, not knowing that she was putting herself right in the middle of tornado alley. She took quite a bit of ribbing about it and today it is a family joke to evacuate to Oklahoma.

huge storm..........................................
lightening strike......................................

Labels: nightmares - Jeannie's

Wild Geese

From airports
in Europe and Africa and America,
in Australia and Malaysia,
both separately and together
you and I have boarded planes
through sleek, accordion pleated tubes,
climbed rickety, roll-up metal stairs,
rode crowded busses from terminals
to distant parked planes
and scurried across jet shrieked tarmac
to fearful little prop jobs.

We've stood patiently in orderly lines,
rubbed elbows with perfumed furs
and drank champagne in computerized seatings.
We've bulled our way like Greenbay Packers
through shoving hordes of dusky brothers
for a first-come, first served seat
on Third World airlines.

You stood in line at Orly Sud,
just deplaned from Austria
and I, dashing late as usual,
after a wild Paris-London-Paris week,
stood far to the end of the boarders.
You saved a seat for me,
claiming it was for your wife
as you resisted the determined struggles
of other passengers for the last empty place
on an overbooked Air Algerie.

When at last I squirmed through the crowd
and collapsed in the seat beside you,
we giggled in triumph like children
and huddled together in chatty intimacy
during the flight across the Med.
After a sleepless night in Paris I was a wreck
but you gallantly assured me that I looked wonderful.

At Houston Intercontinental
I stood forlornly, alone, left behind,
watching you disappear down the long corridor
to the boarding lounge
en route to New York, Paris, Oran..
You turned and beckoned for me to follow
and I could only shrug, palms up
in the classic gesture.
I wanted to go too. You know that.
But it's all been said
and there is nothing more to say.

When I left the airport it was raining
and I could hear the rising whine of jet engines.
I heard them in my mind
long after they were far behind me
and the sounds of the city filled my ears.
On the radio Janis Joplin sang Bobby Magee
so I turned up the volume full blast
and drove home alone, my heart
echoing the cry of the wild goose.

mb/ for Bob

"....we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun..."

Labels: wild geese - flights

There is an old story about an injured wild goose who was nursed back to health by a farmer. Although once again healthy, the goose was crippled and could not fly. It spent its days in the chicken yard with the other fowl and appeared content, except in the spring and the fall when the migrating wild geese flew over. The old goose would echo their plaintive cries but the flocks went on and he was left behind. Long after they were gone he would continue to cry piteously and watch the sky.

I loved to travel and I loved to fly. I loved the life of the human wild geese circling the globe to exotic lands and tasting foreign cultures.

Now I sit alone with memories. From my 7th floor apartment I watch the arrivals and departures of the planes from Hobby Airport and wonder where they've been and where they're going. My heart aches with longing to be on them, to go, to fly like the wild geese. I sympathize, empathize with the old goose in the story. I, too, cry piteously, to no avail. I, too, am grounded to the barnyard.

Labels: wild goose - cries

The Ice Plant is a succulent with thick, finger-like leaves. It is a native to south Africa and has been transplanted to many countries for xeriscaping.

I first saw Ice Plants in Algeria, north Africa. Benabdullah, mon fils Algerien, brought some and planted them in my flower gardens. During the hot, arid summer months when water was rationed and watering gardens strictly prohibited, the Ice Plants survived quite well. Other flowers and plants survived only by dint of labor. On the day laundry was allowed, we could divert the washing machine drain hose to drain onto the gardens. Everyone cooked, washed dishes and bathed during the 2 hours each evening that water usage was allowed. We'd save our bath water and haul it out, bucket by bucket, to pour on my flowers and Roy's veggie garden.The Ice Plants needed no such pampering.

Ice Plant, Lampranthus	Ice Plant, Lampranthus

Ice Plant, Lampranthus	Ice Plant, Lampranthus

Labels: ice plants - north africa gardens

http://www.dobhran.com/greetings/GRinspire65.htm

[Turn OFF the music!!]

When I was a teeny bopper I often spent summers and even one school year with my maternal grandparents on a farm in the hill country in the Edwards Plateau region near Sparta, Texas. The farm was owned by one of my uncles; when the rivers were to be dammed and a lake created, the farm would be flooded but its boundries became lake front property. Uncle Rodgers sold the property to developers and made a tidy profit. He then purchased another farm in the western hill country near Sabinal, Texas and gave my grandparents life estate on it.

This series of events occasioned a wall eyed hissy fit by my mother. Several years earlier she had been bugging my father to sell our home in Corpus Christi and move to the hill country where two of her brothers lived. According to her, my father agreed. She located the Sparta farm across the mountain from Uncle Cleo and Uncle Devillar's farms near Bland. My father balked and refused to follow through with the deal so Uncle Rodgers purchased the farm instead and gave it to my grandparents. Mother threw a fit over my father's failure to buy the farm but the fit was nothing compared to the one she threw when her brother made such a profit on it. Mother wailed, "We could have made that money!"

I loved the Sabinal farm but not as much as I adored the Sparta farm. I was just a teeny bopper then but would go horseback riding or take the .22 rifle and Jeep dog and roam the cedar breaks and mountains all day. I had many interesting adventures there and I loved being with my grandmother.

There was a small creek that meandered down the hill toward the cattle guard. A large tree stood beside the creek and periodic floods had hollowed out a cavity under the roots. I was attracted to it by the sound of a dog barking that seemed to come from the cavity. To my astonishment the bark was being emitted by a frog. I squatted there watching him and puzzling over a frog making a barking sound instead of a croak. I had played with frogs and toads all my life but I was wary about this unusual frog. I longed to capture this odd specimen but felt unease about touching him. I was country reared and had sense enough to be cautious about creatures of which I knew nothing.

I dashed back to the farmhouse and excitedly announced my discovery of the barking frog. My grandparents had never heard of such a critter so my youngest uncle and a couple of cousins accompanied me to the creek to see this marvel. The blasted frog was gone and I took a lot of ribbing for claiming a frog barked. Over the years I asked various people if they knew of a frog that barked and all I got was laughter. No one believed me; they didn't think that I lied but thought my imagination had gone wild. Not even Uncle Oscar knew of such a frog and I thought he knew everything. All of my uncles were well educated and very intelligent but Uncle Oscar had a broader range of knowledge on practically every subject I could broach.

For over 60 years I puzzled over the barking frog. I KNEW that I was not mistaken in what I had seen and heard. I KNEW that frog barked! It is my habit since acquiring a computer to spend many hours researching various subjects that interests me. One night I recalled the frog and did a search on barking frogs. I was surprised and delighted to pull up the following sites.

Parts of Texas were once covered by the sea and the Llano uplift is composed of limestone with many caves and cavities of different sizes, ideal habitat for the creatures.

There IS a barking frog! My barking frog was fatter and seemed larger than the pictured ones but it is the same frog. So fie on all you scoffers. I did not imagine it.




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Eleutherodactylus augusti

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Eastern Barking Frog (Eleutherodactylus augusti) is a small Leptodactylid frog found in the southern United States in the states of Texas and New Mexico, with disjunct populations in Arizona and northwestern Mexico. It is called the barking frog because its call sounds like the barking of a small dog. The epithet augusti is in honor of renown French zoologist Auguste Duméril.^[1]

External links

• Tucson Herpetological Society: Barking Frog

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Eleutherodactylus augusti. Photographer: Dr. Carl S. Lieb. Otero Co., NM. 12 August 1991.

http://museum.utep.edu/chih/theland/animals/amphibians/hylactrophryneaug.htm

Barking Frog

Eleutherodactilus augusti

Context Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Leptodactylidae

Distribution

Nomenclature and Taxonomy

Other common names for this species include Robber Frog, Cliff Frog, and Rock Frog (Wright and Wright, 1949), plus Rana de Bolsa (Liner, 1994). Other scientific names found in zoological literature include Hylodes augusti (before 1920), Eleutherodactylus latrans (used about 1920-1955) and Hylactophryne augusti (in use from ca. 1970-1987). Subspecies occurring in the Chihuahuan Desert Region are Eleutherodactylus augusti latrans (Common name: "Eastern Barking Frog") for Texas and New Mexico populations, and E. a. fuscofemora ("Zweifel's Barking Frog") for populations near Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila.

Physical Characteristics:

Males reach 70 mm in head-body length, females are larger, to 94 mm (Zweifel, 1967). Overall dorsal coloration varies from dark brown to pale gray, with darker circular spots or markings often present. Yellowish suffusions occasionally evident on the back, limbs, and face of large individuals. Ventral surface is uniformly light, with a circular skin fold (ventral disc) extending from the axillary to inguinal region. The forearms are robust, the outer fingers elongate, the tips of the toes somewhat club-like, and the soles and palms are equipped with numerous tubercles. Juveniles are dark gray or gray-green, with have a pronounced light band across the back of the torso.

Geographic Range:

Widely distributed in central and montane Mexico, Barking Frogs are found in the United States primarily in the Edwards Plateau region and in and near the Pecos River Valley of Texas and southeastern New Mexico. They are also known to occur in the Santa Rita and Pajarito mountains of southeastern Arizona. The Chihuahuan Desert Region distribution includes a population in southern Otero County, New Mexico, scattered populations along the northern Pecos River of Texas and New Mexico, and several populations in northern and central Coahuila (e.g., Cuatro Cienegas region). The species also has an extensive distribution in foothill and montane habitats along the southern margin of the Chihuahuan Desert region of Durango, southern Coahuila, and Nuevo Leóon, and it is probably also widespread in the Saladan Desert province of San Luis Potosái and Zacatecas, just south of the Chihuahuan Desert region proper.

Habitat

This primarily subtropical and premontane species requires rocky habitats with deep fissures that provide ready access to permanently moist, subterranean microhabitats. Rocky limestone, especially karst, or igneous topography in combination with a high water table is the typical setting; surface vegetation in areas supporting these frogs includes such extremes as Chihuahuan Desert scrub, subtropical deciduous forest, oak-juniper woodlands, and montane pine-oak forest.

Natural History

Known food items include camel crickets and land snails (McAlister, 1954; Olson, 1959); doubtless other invertebrates are opportunistically taken. Male mating vocalizations carry long distances and sound very much like a barking dogs; it is thus possible to hear the frog call in a rural area without realizing the "background noise" is of anuran rather than canine origin. Since these males usually call while hidden deep within crevices of rock outcrops, the sound ventriloquistically bounces off stone faces and makes physical location of the animal particularly challenging (see Wright and Wright, 1949: 372 for a typical field encounter). Several specimens have been collected from caves, but most specimens of barking frogs found in the open were en route to shelter or were females encountered on their way to calling males; seemingly only very humid atmospheric conditions promote such open-air movements.

Reproductive characteristics

As in nearly all other frogs, fertilization is external. Unlike most other temperate zone frogs, however, development is direct: eggs are laid in a moist microhabitat underground (e.g., in damp soil under a rock), the larval stage passed inside the egg, and a small terrestrial "froglet" emerges from the egg rather than an aquatic tadpole (Jameson, 1950; Valett and Jameson, 1961). Timing of reproduction varies in different parts of the range. Jameson (1954) felt that breeding in central Texas took place primarily in April and May, but in more arid parts of the range intense calling activity by males seems to be tied to summer rainy periods (e.g., July).

Conservation Status

Barking Frogs enjoy no special protective status in Texas or New Mexico, although the restricted distribution in the latter state has made its conservation status a continuing concern of its wildlife management authorities. In Arizona, the species is even more restricted in its distribution and completely protected as a State Endangered form. Nevertheless, like other species of amphibians in the Southwest U.S. and Mexico that are dependent upon moist subterranean habitats maintained by groundwater, barking frogs are potentially threatened by excessive down-draws on the water table and/or contamination of aquifers that inevitably come with increased human utilization of such resources.

Remarks

The interesting species has the reputation of being rarely encountered over most of its geographic range. Nevertheless, in undeveloped parts of the Edwards Plateau of central Texas, choruses of these frogs can be heard at many locations--if environmental conditions are appropriate and one can recognize the frog's call for what it is. When conditions are less optimal, the species may be relatively abundant in a region but hard to detect. A series of eight specimens from near Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, were taken in mousetraps at night; the frogs were otherwise completely unobserved in the area (Schmidt and Owens, 1944).

Labels: barking frog

Look alikes of George the Goose- may he rest in peace, the old devil!

Aunt Pearl once lived in a Houston house that was surrounded by a 5 foot chain link fence complete with a chain link gate at the driveway. Somewhere she acquired an emden goose who jealously guarded his domain against all intruders. Emdens are the largest breed of domestic geese and George was an unusually large specimen. He also enjoyed the longest neck I ever saw when it was fully extended to hiss and attack, and he could inflict a very painful twisting bite with his powerful beak.

George was a perfect guard dog. At the sight of any human or dog passerby on the street or a visitor drive up to the gate entrance, George would loudly honk an alarm. If anyone dared to open the gate, George would immediately go into attack mode, stretching his neck out and hissing like a steam engine. If the intruder was brave enough to try to approach the porch, George would circle behind them and give them a vicious bite. The bite was bad enough but he would then twist while biting and make it even more painful. He earned the enmity of all family members and other visitors. Family and friends learned to carry a long stick with which to fend off the goose when they went to Aunt Pearl's house. The only living creatures that George tolerated were the residents of the home.

Aunt Pearl purchased a home that was not fully fenced so she took George to the Sabinal farm to live with Grandma and Grandpa (in the fenced chicken yard). We feared that he would attack the elders but he immediately bonded with my grandparents, especially Grandma. He was so tame with her that she allowed him free run about the place. George followed her around like a puppy, but woe to any of us who came to visit. It was long stick time again. Even so, some of us were badly bitten by the old devil.

My grandma was deeply religious and not only said her bedtime prayers but had daily prayers behind the barn. George would follow her back there and stand beside her as she prayed. He would gabble softly during her prayer session and Grandma joked that George was praying too. They shared their prayer meetings until the old fellow died. Grandma grieved over his death but most of the family secretly rejoiced. The scourge of the farm yard was finally gone!

Unfortunately the guard dog was also gone; later events proved to be tragic when intruders prowled around the isolated farm house and terrified my grandma. As much as we hated George, we then wished he had still been there. George would have sent those wetbacks skedaddling. He was a good guard dog. I hope he has lovely swamps and plenty of goosey wives in goose heaven.



http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Emden_geese

Labels: Goose-George-Emden

There are many things in life that trigger memories of the past. A song, a scent, a glimpse of a face in passing, certain foods....


I am an uncontrolled diabetic, largely my own fault because I often fail to adhere to the regime my diabetic doctor has ordered. Sweets are prohibited but the diabetic
nutritionist said that I could have an occasional treat if I cut down on the next meal. Right.

For a party, Dottie had purchased an assortment of confections to serve. Some of the baklava bites were left over. She gave them to me with considerable reservations, but I assured her I would be sensible. I tried! But oh, the temptation! I adore baklava. Layer upon layer of delicate, crisp phyllo laced with ground or chopped nuts and soaked in simple syrup or honey. Sinfully sweet and about a kazillion calories. I prefer those made with simple syrup because the honey is too cloyingly sweet.


I tried to resist the temptation to pork, but the devil whispered over my shoulder.Like the joke where someone advised a tempted woman, "Tell him to get behind me, Satan!" and the woman replied, "I did, but he whispered over my shoulder."
In spite of my good intentions, the devil made me do it; he reminded me about how delicious the baklava would be. I pigged until the extreme sweetness became too much. Then a day or two later, temptation again. Oh me! I am such a weak kneed wimp!



Although I pigged out, I did not gobble in a gluttonous frenzy. I sat dreamily, savoring each tiny bite and I remembered. I remembered being served baklava with tiny cups of strong Arabic coffee in north African homes of my Arab friends. Their faces were vivid in my mind, the details of their homes and decor of each, the soft guttural gabble of Arabic as they spoke in asides to each other. I remembered the shy, dark eyed children peeking around the doors to see the foreign woman and in memory heard their high pitched giggles as they scampered away when I looked at them. In memory I saw the hot, dusty Mediterranean countryside, the ragged palms, the brilliant palette of colors in the massed spills of bougainvillia over ochre walls. I saw the riven peaks of mountains clothed in dark evergreens and the incredible blue of the Mediterranean Sea as it lapped against exquisite beige beaches. Memory images crowded upon more and more images as I slowly savored a forbidden bite. In memory I took a time travel visit to yesterday, a yesterday a quarter of a century past. Time travel ticketed by the taste of baklava.

It was wonderful.

Labels: Memories

Sinkhole in street of my neighborhood:
Sinkhole in Belfort street -1-28-o8. In center line of two lanes, extending about 3 feet across at
left lane from center line. Spider web of deep cracks, depressed in middle.

3:30 P.M.. Swerved widely to avoid edge when passing it (holes often shelve back from surface layer of pavement or soil and will break off ). Retraced route about 6:30 P.M. and area of sink encompassed entire left lane and few feet on right lane; barricaded by street dept. I will not pass that way again until repairs are completed! Brrrr!

2-03-08- City placed large metal slabs across the sinkhole. Covered a large amount of both lanes. Later in day crews had covered the edges of the metal slabs with asphalt, presumably to protect motorists tires. I drove on far right of 2nd lane, right against curb. I don't know what's under those metal slabs.

3-08 - city asphalted over entire two lanes, making the area of the metal slabs even with rest of street. I have become paranoid about every crack, split and chug hole in the street. I HATE sinkholes.

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Sinkholes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkholes

A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water. Sinkholes may vary in size from less than a meter to several hundred meters both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to bedrock-edged chasms. They may be formed gradually or suddenly, and are found worldwide.

Mechanisms of formation may include the gradual removal of slightly soluble bedrock (such as limestone) by percolating water, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lowering of the water table. Occasionally a sinkhole may exhibit a visible opening into a cave below. In the case of exceptionally large sinkholes, such as Cedar Sink at Mammoth Cave National Park, USA, a stream or river may be visible across its bottom flowing from one side to the other.
Sinkholes near the Dead Sea, formed by dissolution of underground salt by incoming freshwater, as a result of a continuing sea level drop.

Sinkholes may capture surface drainage for running or standing water, but may also form in currently high and dry locations. [...] Sinkholes can be formed in retention ponds from large amounts of rain.
[...]
Sinkholes are usually but not always linked with karst landscapes. In such regions, there may be hundreds or even thousands of sinkholes in a small area so that the surface as seen from the air looks pock-marked, and there are no surface streams because all drainage occurs sub-surface.
[...]
Sinkholes also form from human activity, such as the rare but still occasional collapse of abandoned mines in places like West Virginia, USA. More commonly, sinkholes occur in urban areas due to water main breaks or sewer collapses when old pipes give way. They can also occur from the overpumping and extraction of groundwater and subsurface fluids.
A special type of sinkhole - formed by rainwater leaking through the pavement and carrying dirt into a ruptured sewer pipe.
[...]
When sinkholes are very deep or connected to caves, they may offer challenges for experienced cavers or, when water-filled, divers. Some of the most spectacular are the Zacatón cenote in Mexico (the world's deepest water-filled sinkhole), the Boesmansgat sinkhole in South Africa, Sarisariñama tepuy in Venezuela, and in the town of Mount Gambier, South Australia.

[edit] See also

* Cenote
* Great Blue Hole
* Karst topography
* Foiba
* Pipe Creek Sinkhole
* Sarisariñama
* Voçoroca
* Sinkhole Dersios
* Zacatón

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Sinkhole at Winter Park, Florida (1981) that formed catastrophically in the time span of one day. The city of Winter Park stabilized and sealed the sinkhole, converting it into an urban lake. These features occur in what is known as karst topography, which is common in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Photograph by A. S. Navoy.

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You Tube Video: Sinkhole in Desert watch video Video Description A huge sinkhole in the middle of the desert. It is over a hundred feet wide and a hundred feet deep. It's really trippy. Personal Message sinkhole in desert- Thanks, worriedamerican

© 2008 YouTube, In

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Blue Hole, Lighthouse Reef, Belize (map), 2002
Photograph by David Doubilet

Approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Belize City, the almost perfectly circular Blue Hole is more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) across and some 400 feet (123 meters) deep.

The hole is the opening to what was a dry cave system during the Ice Age. When the ice melted and the sea level rose, the caves were flooded, creating what is now a magnet for intrepid divers.
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You Tube Video: Sinkhole Swallowing a Lake watch video Video Description Amani Channel reports on a sink hole that's drinking a lake. Personal Message sinkhole swallows lake Thanks, worriedamerican Giant Sinkhole Swallowing Florida Lake Wednesday, June 21, 2006 E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION LAKELAND, Fla. — Hundreds of residents living around Scott Lake can only watch and wait to see whether their lake — and a few homes — will be swallowed by a giant sinkhole. The sinkhole opened last Thursday at the south end of the lake, and has been growing at a rate of six-to-eight inches a day. In the process, a home, several docks, swimming pools and backyard gazebos have been destroyed. Polk County officials say there is nothing that can be done, and that it is simply an unfortunate act of nature. "My understanding is, if it's a natural phenomena, it's not the county's responsibility," said Jay Jarvis, drainage manager with the Polk County Natural Resources Division.

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Sinkhole yawns with car at bottom

With a gas station cordoned off and gasoline removed, experts ponder how to remove the Toyota and contain the growth.

By SUZANNAH GONZALES
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 13, 2003

View related 10 News video:
56k | High-Speed

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[For the Times: Paul Pilney] The rear end is all that can be seen of Suzanne Bynes' Toyota after it was swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up at the Marathon gas station on U.S. 41 just north of Citrus Springs in Citrus County. With the property cordoned off, experts worked Wednesday to determine how to retrieve the car.

CITRUS SPRINGS -- The large sinkhole that consumed a Toyota Corolla at a gas station Tuesday evening continued to grow Wednesday with the car still below. And the problem was spreading to other areas on the property.

Officials estimated that the hole had grown to 35 feet in circumference and just over 40 feet deep.

It's still moving, said Ruth "Rusty" Harry, emergency management coordinator for the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

Inside the Marathon gas station at U.S. 41 and County Road 39, a straight crack had formed on the floor near the cash register counter. Outside, the pavement had cracked in spots.

With the property cordoned off with yellow tape and drivers slowing to peek at the hole, geologists, contractors and engineers worked Wednesday to determine how to pull out the car and rectify the problem.

"We've got to stop the hole from growing," Harry said.

Harry explained that the hole may be filled in with debris or concrete.

Three thousand gallons of gasoline had been removed from four underground tanks by 6 a.m. Wednesday, eliminating the possibility of fire or a gas spill, according to the county's public safety director, Charles Poliseno.

Afterward, fire officials from the Citrus Springs and DeRosa volunteer departments vacated the scene.

Poliseno said the canopy over the two gas pumps still could collapse. The area still is not completely stable, officials said.

The sinkhole, which some described as unusually large for the county, is the result of a process that has been happening for thousands of years, said Paul Pilny, a soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"If you peel back the surface, you are going to find holes all over the county," Pilny said. He said the underground looks like a natural sponge.

Acids in rain eat away at rock, forming a crack, and vibrations from traffic above can accelerate the process, Pilny explained. When water starts to enter the crack, the crack gets larger and a cavity starts to form, he said.

Rainwater accumulates in the cavity, creating a lot of water weight in the soils above, Pilny said.

[Times photo: Ron Thompson] USDA soil scientist Paul Pilny checks ground samples Wednesday near a sinkhole that opened under a Marathon gas station on U.S. 41 north of Citrus Springs. A car leaving the station was swallowed by the 40-foot-deep sinkhole.

Officials believe the recent rains probably caused the top to cave in.

Suzanne Bynes of Beverly Hills didn't know any of this Tuesday evening. She just thought she may have hit a pot hole.

Bynes had just finished putting $9.30 worth of gas in her car about 5 p.m. Tuesday, and drove forward about 25 feet. [...]

The car jolted. They felt whiplash.

Then Bynes, 44, tried twice to gun the car in reverse. It wouldn't move.

Knowing something was wrong, Carmine jumped out of the car and yelled: "Mom, get out of the car right now." [...]

She remembers that the front end of the car was tilting down.

[...]

-- Suzannah Gonzales can be reached at 860-7312 or sgonzales@sptimes.com.

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You Tube Video: Sinkhole near Avon watch video Video Description A huge sinkhole we found near Avon Personal Message sinkhole - avon 15x12 Thanks, worriedamerican

© 2008 YouTube, In
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Ancient Sinkholes = Caves
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Interior view of cave/sinkhole

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Foiba

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the killings that involved throwing victims into foibe or similar formations during World War II, see Foibe massacres.

Foiba (Italian plural foibe) is the name adopted to define deep natural sinkholes common in the Kras (Carso) region, a karstic plateau region shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. The name is derived from the Latin fovea (chasm); they are indeed chasms excavated by water's erosion, have the shape of an inverted funnel, and can be up to 200 meters deep. Such formations number in the hundreds in Istria.

This name, especially in Italy, is commonly associated to mass killings perpetrated by Yugoslav partisans during and shortly after World War II against ethnic Italians, Fascists and other real or perceived enemies.

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Cenotes:
cenotes
http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Cenotes

[edited for length - excerpts from]

A cenote (pronounced in Mexican Spanish [seˈnoˌte] and in English [səˈnəʊˌteɪ], plural: cenotes; from Yucatec Maya dzonot) is a type sinkhole containing groundwater typically found in the Yucatán Peninsula and some nearby Caribbean islands.

Definition and description

Cenotes are surface connections to subterranean water bodies ^[1]. While the most well-known cenotes are large open water pools measuring tens of metres in diameter, such as those at Chichén Itzá, the greatest number of cenotes are smaller sheltered sites and do not necessarily have any surface exposed water. The term cenote has also been used to describe similar karst features in other countries such as Cuba and Australia, in addition to the more generic term of sinkholes.

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Cavers enter sinkholes/cenotes to explore cave systems. Divers enter flooded cenotes to explore the flooded cave systems below. Photos below.

Cenotes: Underwater views:

You Tube Video: Cenote Diving watch video Video Description Cenotes are limestone sinkholes in the Yucatan Peninsula, and have magical light and formations. In this video you can clearly see the blurring from moving through the halocline (where fresh meets salt water) at about 1:35. Personal Message sinkhole diving Thanks, worriedamerican

You Tube Video: Cenote Diving; Dos Ojos watch video Video Description Shot at about 20' underwater in Dos Ojos Cenote near Akumal on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Personal Message cenote diving -dos ojos Thanks, worriedamerican

Cenotes: Surface views:


Sacred Cenote..........................................photo

Labels: nightmare - multiple images of sinkholes-cenotes

Unidentified hole:


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One of my terrible phobias and nightmares - sinkholes. It is a absolute betrayal of trust for the solid earth to collapse under us, on a par with terra firma becoming terra jello during a quake.






By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA, Associated Press Writer

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala - A 330-foot-deep sinkhole killed at least two teenagers as it swallowed about a dozen homes early Friday and forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people in a crowded Guatemala City neighborhood. Officials blamed the sinkhole on recent rains and an underground sewage flow from a ruptured main.

The pit emitted foul odors, loud noises and tremors, shaking the surrounding ground. A rush of water could be heard from its depths, and authorities feared it could widen or others could open up.

Rescue operations were on hold until a firefighter, suspended from a cable, could take video and photos above the hole and officials could use the documentation to decide how to proceed.

The dead were identified as Irma and David Soyos, emergency spokesman Juan Carlos Bolanos said. Their bodies were found near the sinkhole, floating in a river of sewage.

Their father, Domingo, was still missing, according to disaster coordinator Hugo Hernandez.


Top Hole

Front Hole

Side Hole

Side 2 - Hole

Soldiers peer into hole.

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Sinkhole at Winter Park, Florida (1981) that formed catastrophically in the time span of one day. The city of Winter Park stabilized and sealed the sinkhole, converting it into an urban lake. These features occur in what is known as karst topography, which is common in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Photograph by A. S. Navoy.

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Sinkhole - near Sao Paulo Brazil

First body recovered from Brazil's metro tunnel collapse

SAO PAULO: Rescuers early Monday recovered the first body of at least seven victims of a major metro construction site accident in Sao Paulo, fire department officials reported. As many as seven people are believed to have been buried inside a giant sinkhole that opened at a metro construction site in South America's biggest city. Rescuers said they spotted three other victims fatally swallowed by the sinkhole, but did not retrieve the bodies because they deemed it too risky. "There's a danger of more shifting" in the ground, said fire chief Joao dos Santos, head of rescue operations since the sinkhole opened up on Friday. The body recovered was identified as 75-year-old Abigail Rossi de Azevedo, who was swallowed by the sinkhole when passing near the construction site on her way to a medical appointment.

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You Tube Video: Sinkhole Opens in Highway; Car Falls In watch video Video Description Car falls into sink hole Personal Message sinkhole opens in highway - car falls in sinkhole. Thanks, worriedamerican

© 2008 YouTube,

Highway Collapses:
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Sinkholes swallowing homes:




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Labels: nightmare-lg. sinkhole

http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/03files/Endangered_Earth_Sinkhole_Florida.html

Endangered Earth Sinkholes

Winter Park, Florida May 9, 1981 .. Collapse sinkholes, such as this one in Winter Park, Florida (1981), may develop abruptly (over a period of hours) and cause catastrophic damage Credit USGS The sudden and sometimes catastrophic subsidence associated with localized collapse of subsurface cavities (sinkholes) (fig. 8) is detailed in two case studies. This type of subsidence is commonly triggered by ground-water-level declines caused by pumping and by enhanced percolation of ground water. Collapse features tend to be associated with specific rock types, such as evaporites (salt, gypsum, and anhydrite) and carbonates (limestone and dolomite) (fig. 9). These rocks are susceptible to dissolution in water and the formation of cavities Salt and gypsum are much more soluble than limestone, the rock type most often associated with catastrophic sinkhole formation. Evaporite rocks underlie about 35 to 40 percent of the United States, though in many areas they are buried at great depths (Martinez and others, 1998). Natural solution-related subsidence has occured in each of the major salt basins in the United States (Ege, 1984). The high solubilities of salt and gypsum permit cavities to form in days to years, whereas cavity formation in carbonate bedrock is a very slow process that generally occurs over centuries to millennia. Human activities can expedite cavity formation in these susceptible materials and trigger their collapse, as well as the collapse of pre-existing subsurface cavities. Though the collapse features tend to be highly localized, their impacts can extend beyond the collapse zone via the potential introduction of contaminants to the ground-water system. Two cavity-collapse case studies — Retsof, New York, and west-central Florida — document human-induced cavity collapses in salt and limestone, respectively. SOURCE: USGS Land Subsidence in the United States

Winter Park, Florida .. Photograph by A. S. Navoy. Sinkhole at Winter Park, Florida (1981) that formed catastrophically in the time span of one day. The city of Winter Park stabilized and sealed the sinkhole, converting it into an urban lake. These features occur in what is known as karst topography, which is common in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Florida Sinkholes .. Two Sinkholes in Florida that were very selective. Florida has more sinkholes than any other state... Sinkholes: What is a sinkhole? Sinkholes are depressions or holes in the land surface that occur throughout west central Florida. They can be shallow or deep, small or large, but all are a result of the dissolving of the underlying limestone. Hydrologic conditions, including lack of rainfall, lowered water levels, or, conversely, excessive rainfall in a short period of time, can all contribute to sinkhole development. More facts about sinkholes can be found in the District’s Sinkhole Brochure. View the Department of Environmental Protection's sinkhole database Sinkholes are a common naturally occurring geologic phenomenon and one of the predominant land forms in Florida. .. The Making of a Sinkhole Many of the lakes in Florida are relic sinkholes. Sinkholes can be classified as geologic hazards sometimes causing extensive damage to structures and roads resulting in costly repairs. Sinkholes can also threaten water supplies by draining unfiltered water from streams, lakes and wetlands directly into the aquifer (underground water supply). What if a sinkhole opens on my property? If your home is threatened, contact your homeowners insurance company. If extensive damage occurs to your house or property, notify the Office of Emergency Management for the county. If desired, the resident may make contact with a private contractor to evaluate the hole to officially determine if it is a sinkhole. Sinkhole data and maps: Florida Department of Environmental Protection More information about sinkholes: Florida Sinkhole Research Institute Contact the Institute at UCF’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department P.O. Box 162450, Orlando, FL 32816-2450 phone: (407) 823-2280

Sinkholes are a common feature of Florida's landscape. They are only one of many kinds of karst landforms, which include caves, disappearing streams, springs, and underground drainage systems, all of which occur in Florida. Karst is a generic term which refers to the characteristic terrain produced by erosional processes associated with the chemical weathering and dissolution of limestone or dolomite, the two most common carbonate rocks in Florida. Dissolution of carbonate rocks begins when they are exposed to acidic water. Most rainwater is slightly acidic and usually becomes more acidic as it moves through decaying plant debris. Winter Park, Florida, 1981 Limestones in Florida are porous, allowing the acidic water to percolate through their strata, dissolving some limestone and carrying it away in solution. Over eons of time, this persistent erosional process has created extensive underground voids and drainage systems in much of the carbonate rocks throughout the state. Collapse of overlying sediments into the underground cavities produces sinkholes. A picture of the side of a sinkhole showing its strata A picture of a cave showing stalagtites and stalagmites When groundwater discharges from an underground drainage system, it is a spring, such as Wakulla Springs, Silver Springs, or Rainbow Springs. Sinkholes can occur in the beds of streams, sometimes taking all of the stream's flow, creating a disappearing stream. Dry caves are parts of karst drainage systems that are above the water table, such as Marianna Caverns. A picture of a cave showing stalagtites and stalagmites Suggested reading: Lane, Ed, 1986, Karst in Florida: Florida Geological Survey Special Publication 29, 100 p. SOURCE: Florida Department of Environmental Protection's sinkhole database

Cover-collapse Sinkhole near Ocala , Florida .. Credit: Sinkhole.org

Existing Sinkholes Water Filled .. Blue Grotto is actually a sinkhole with good visibilty. Depths reach 100 ft. Upon entering the sink you will encounter a very large cavern with writing on the walls. At a depth of 30 feet there is a fresh air bell so you can take off your mask and breath some fresh air. Continuing down, there is a large shaft that slopes down at a 90 degree angle. At around 90 feet you will encounter silt that can be easily stired up. There are lights at 30 ft to illuminate the cavern. The owner, is very friendly and also manufactures dive, wreck and video lights... Source: http://underwaterflorida.homestead.com/grotto.html For More on the Underwater Sinkholes, Caves and Springs See Here For More on Florida Caverns See Here

Google Look at Sinkholes Avon Park , Florida +27° 35' 52.48", -81° 29' 48.78" .. Avon Park Overview showing many existing water filled sinkholes. Most of Florida looks like this from satellite view .. Avon Park Closer View of some larger sinkholes .. Avon Park very deep and round sinkhole .. Avon Park, Northwest Corner... new sinkholes and signs of others ready to break open

Can "X-Ray Vision" (Advanced Visual Inspection Methodology) Indicate Imminent Sinkhole Collapse - Visual & Other Clues Indicating the Risk of Sinkholes in Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania & Elsewhere .. The bare minimum that a property owner needs to know about sinkholes or any other sudden subsidence of soils at a property is that these conditions might be very dangerous. Someone falling into a sink hole or into a collapsing septic tank could be seriously injured or even die. If a suspicious hole, subsidence, or depression appears at a property the owner should rope off and prevent access to the area to prevent anyone from falling into the opening, and then should seek prompt assistance from a qualified expert, geotechnical engineer, septic contractor, excavator, or the like. Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice - Huge Data Base on Sinkholes around the USA Sinkhole Information Site

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WINNER—One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Taj Mahal, India: The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra combines Indian, Persian and Islamic styles and was built by a 17th century Mogul emperor for his favorite wife, who died in childbirth.
Taj MahalThe sheer magnificence of India's Taj Mahal is a dream-like vision your eyes won't soon forget. Built entirely of white marble and inlaid with semi-precious stones like jade, crystal, coral, and turquoise, this ethereal temple took 20,000 workers and 22 years to complete, in 1643, as a mausoleum for Emperor Shah Jahan's wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Rising above a river and framed by four minarets, the Taj, with its perfect symmetry, intricate mosaic details, and utter refinement, is not only one of the world's most beautiful buildings, it's also considered a testament to undying love and a symbol of lasting beauty.

COMMENTS:

Scarlet W. Blue said...

I think "magnificent" is just the right word for this building. Amazing.

12/27/2007 8:21 AM

Labels: Taj Mahal