Person-of-Mystery

The mystery theme for today is "Famous Companions."

Who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

Mary Ellis (and other people buried in parking lots)

I was recently browsing the book, Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey, by Janice Kohl Sarapin, while looking for potential information on ancestors of mine who lived in New Jersey in the 1700 and early 1800s.  While I didn’t find what I was looking for, there was one chapter titled, “Ghost Stories and Legends” that caught my eye.  In particular, I was fascinated by a section called, “The Gravestone in the Parking Lot.”  The author describes the curious case of Mary Ellis, whose body currently resides in the middle of an asphalt parking lot outside an AMC Loews 18-Theater Cinemaplex in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  Her story was rather compelling, so I did a quick Google search and the image of Mary Ellis’ grave, below, popped up.

While the appearance of a grave in the middle of a movie theater parking lot is odd enough, the story behind the grave is equally interesting.

(Satellite image of Mary’s grave, marked by the red arrow)

Supposedly, in the 1790s, Mary came to New Brunswick, New Jersey, to live with her younger sister, Margaret White, the wife of Colonel Anthony White.  Shortly after coming to New Brunswick, Mary met and fell in love with a former Revolutionary War officer turned sea captain, but soon after their romance developed, the captain left on a voyage.  Professing his intentions for her, he put his horse in her care, sailing down the Raritan River, and out to the Atlantic.  Every day he was away, Mary would go down to the river and look for her captain.  In 1813, Mary bought a piece of farmland near her sister along the river, but continued her daily vigil.  Sadly, he never returned, but she continued watching for him until she died in 1828.

(Mary Ellis’ original grave in the woods as photographed in the  early 1900s)

Mary was buried in the secluded woods on her property with a view of the Raritan visible from the gravesite.  The land was sold and resold over the years.  In the 1960s, the woods were cleared, the ground was scraped and graded lower to allow for a parking lot for a discount store.  Fast forward a few years, and the site housed a discount store, flea market, and finally the movie theater occupied the site.  The entire time, Mary’s grave remained in the parking lot, but with each successive grading lowering the parking lot, her grave appeared to rise, so that it now stands about seven feet above ground level.

(Photos of Mary's grave over the years)

There are a lot of people who believe that Mary's story inspired the lyrics to the 1972 song, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by the band Looking Glass, since the band is also from New Brunswick, New Jersey.

I shared this information with my history classes today and then said, “So you see, Paso Robles isn’t the only town with people buried in their parking lots.”  The students did an immediate double take and then I realized that they were too young to remember the fight over the Wal-Mart parking lot.

(Panorama shot of the mound in the middle of the Wal-Mart parking lot in Paso Robles, California)

Just a short drive down Niblick Road from the high school where I teach in Paso Robles is the local Wal-Mart.  Back in 1993, when they were building the place, workers discovered a skull a a couple bones believed to be Indian remains in a little mound on the site.

(Satellite view of burial mound, marked by red arrow - panorama vantage marked by red x)

The developer initially wanted to flatten the rise and pave over it to allow for more parking and better visibility from the road.  Some Indians found out about it and sued the developer.  Wal-Mart eventually stepped in, talked to the developer, and preserved a pretty large section in the middle of the parking lot.  It now sits there, a large grassy knoll surrounded by shopping stores, fast food, and parking.

(Memorial plaque only viewable from across the street or with a camera)

I find it a little odd to find people buried under parking lots.  I recall when our family visited Edinburgh, Scotland, we visited St. Giles’ Cathedral where the famous Reformer John Knox (the founder of the Presbyterian Church) preached.  After seeing many memorials and markers for important people, my father asked where John Knox was buried.  The minister informed him that he was buried in the parking lot out back under space 23.  Sure enough, the graveyard had been paved over to provide for parking and there was now a little plaque marking the resting place of Knox.

Somehow it just doesn’t seem right, Mary thinking that her body would be forever in the woods looking towards the river.  Or Knox who was buried in the sod of a quaint churchyard, only now to lie covered with asphalt and motor oil drippings.

Have any of you found other odd burials?

Low and Burbank's Grant, New Hampshire

I'm still liking the little traffic feed guest book at the bottom of the right column.  I was going to write about something else, but when I checked in, I noticed something unusual, a visitor from Low and Burbank's Grant, New Hampshire.  What an intriguing place name!  I just had to look it up.

(Screenshot from my phone)

It turns out that Low and Burbank's Grant is actually a township way up in Coos County.  As I didn't know much about the place, I was surprised to see that Wikipedia cites the 2000 Census as providing a population zero for this 26.1 square mile piece of land.  Clearly today the population was at least 1.  Looking at the map, it appears that part of Low and Burbank's Grant might lie along the Appalachian Trail, so maybe someone found the blog while resting at a cabin.  If so, I'm jealous.  I wish I were out hiking the trail.

Frequently while I'm researching stuff on the Internet, I come across other fun things.  While checking out the history of Coos County, I also came across a reference to the Republic of Indian Stream, something of which I was completely unfamiliar.  Apparently, the settlers in these parts had a short lived micro nation of their own between 1832 and 1835 which arose when the United States and Great Britain couldn't agree on the boundary and both sides decided to tax the area.

I'm also noticing we're getting more and more international traffic to the blog.  Welcome!  Nice to have you visit.

Free Audio Book (on Christian Living)

Okay, sorry about that title.  I didn't know what else to call it.  So there's this site, Christianaudio.com, that each month gives away a free audiobook.  Some months they're good, other months, they're okay.  I've downloaded a few, but this month they're giving away, Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.

I haven't read this book, but I've read other stuff by Jerry Bridges and I've enjoyed everything I've read of his, so I'm going to recommend it for my Christian readers without even reading it myself yet.

I have about a 30 minute commute to work, so I frequently listen to podcasts and books in the car.  Although to be honest, I don't usually listen to books because it takes longer for me to listen to books than to read them.

Judging by the description, this is probably more for someone who is already a Christian than someone who is interested in knowing more about Christianity.

If you're interested, you can download it HERE.  Just click on the "Free Download" link.  You'll need to set up a free user account first, but no credit card is necessary.  If you're not interested in this one, check back next month as I'm sure they'll have another title.

Oh, and by the way, they'll give you a couple options for audio formats.  M4B is primarily used with Apple products (iPod, iPhone, etc.), MP3 should work on most other devices (including Apple products too).  The benefit to M4B format is that it can bookmark chapters while listening.

Alfred Stieglitz

Congratulations to Bill, winner of yesterday's Person-of-Mystery contest!

Alfred Stieglitz was born January 1, 1864, the son of Edard Stieglitz, a lesser-known businessman and later painter.

The Last Joke, Bellagio by Stieglitz

Stieglitz lived a rather privileged life, living off first his father and later his wife, allowing him to pursue photography without the necessity for consistent income.  He is best known as being one of the first people in America to introduce photography as an art form.  He is also known for running several New York art galleries and promoting many up-and-coming artists into the public consciousness.

Winter, Fifth Avenue by Stieglitz

In 1918, he left his wife for Georgia O'Keeffe and the two lived a rather passionate Bohemian life.  The two married soon after his divorce was finalized and over the years, the couple had a sometimes passionate, sometimes working relationship as husband and wife.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Hands by Stieglitz

Stieglitz was known as being a consummate perfectionist.  He was known to labor over the same shot for hours taking multiple exposures of the same scene and selecting only his one favorite to mount.  Stieglitz was also known for being creative and pushing the boundaries of photography.  He was one of the first to attempt to use portable cameras to capture everyday scenes and poses in an artistic manner.  Through his work, his writing, and his support of fellow artists, it is fair to say that no other single individual has had as great impact on modern photography as Alfred Stieglitz.

Venetian Canal by Stieglitz

Person-of-Mystery

The mystery theme for today is "New Year."

Who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy the first day of 2011.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

The Missing Years of Jesus

Last week, Roger posted an interesting question about Jesus.  He said, "Why is it we celebrate his birth and then nothing is said or written about him until he is an adult?  Or did I miss something along the way?"

I've had similar thoughts from time-to-time and so have other people over the years, so I figured I'd share what I know.

There are really three questions Roger is asking.  The first is, why do we celebrate his birth?  This is a good question.  Early Christians didn't celebrate his birth, they celebrated his resurrection from the dead.  Certainly the early Jews did not celebrate birthdays (and their lunisolar calendar makes it difficult to do so anyway with leap months and all).  The early Christians didn't celebrate the birth dates of saints, preferring instead their death dates, so since virtually no one was celebrating birthdays, it makes sense that the calendar date of Jesus' birth wasn't recorded.  We do know from the Bible that he probably wasn't born December 25.  It's recorded that shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep at night, which in Israel it's too cold to do most Decembers.  Using other markers like the birth of John the Baptist, the Roman census, etc., it's probably safe to assume that Jesus was born during the months of August to September.  So why December 25?  Well, the pagans had their feast day of Saturnalia that day and the Roman Catholic church wanted to put a stop to it, so they kind of party crashed Saturnalia and in the year 440 proclaimed the birth of Jesus to be the same day.  Many dissenting Christians (e.g., Protestants including Puritans) resented all the trappings and excesses, so they tended to shun the holiday.  In fact in parts of Colonial America it was against the law to celebrate the day as it had been earlier in Cromwell's England.  George Washington knew that the Hessian soldiers would most likely be drunk on Christmas, so he chose that day for a surprise attack (and to most American soldiers it was just another day).  Christmas got a big boost from Dicken's Christmas Carol and along with immigration from Europe, Americans began celebrating Christmas in larger numbers during the 1850s.  The answer to why we celebrate his birth and why we do it the way we do is probably just tradition of a modern origin.

Roger's second question (which was really combined with the first), which I'll paraphrase, was, why is nothing said of Jesus between the time he was born and the time he was an adult?  Actually, there are a couple of little snapshots of his life growing up if you look closely.  We know his family was from the town of Nazareth (in Northern Israel).  Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem (closer to Jerusalem) for a Roman census and when they got there Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Sometime before age two, the Magi (or wise men) from the East came to visit Jesus.  We know that it wasn't the night he was born since he was born in a manger (where the shepherds visited) and the Bible records that by the time the Magi visited Jesus, the family had moved from the manger to a house.

(More likely where the Magi were when Jesus was born)

(Less likely where the Magi were)

The word used to describe Jesus in Greek is "daidion" which is a young child and not a baby, which would have been the word, "brephos," so there was definitely a time lapse involved.  King Herod had earlier inquired from the Magi when they first started following the star and when he realized that they had departed the country without returning to him, he ordered the killing of all the young boys aged two and under in the town of Bethlehem, so we can assume that Herod believed that Jesus would have been two or younger.

(Herod was one crazy bad man)

Joseph had been warned by an angel that Herod was going to try and kill the baby, so the family fled ahead of the baby massacre to Egypt and the family lived there until Herod died.

Returning to Israel (when Jesus was a young child) after Herod's death, Joseph learned that Herod's son was ruling in his father's place, so the family settled away from Jerusalem back in Nazareth where they thought they would be more safe.

Jesus lived a pretty normal life in Nazareth, the son of a carpenter, probably learning the carpentry trade.

At age 12, there is an account of his family taking a trip to Jerusalem.  When it was time to go home, Joseph and Mary assumed he was traveling back with extended family, but when they couldn't find him among them, they returned somewhat panicked to Jerusalem and found him three days later in the Jewish Temple discussing theology with the elders.

There is a period of time in Jesus' life, from age 12 to age 30, so 18 years time, sometimes called the "lost years" or "missing years."  Most people don't realize that apart from his birth, almost everything Jesus is known for occurred between age 30 and 33.  The Bible doesn't tell us what Jesus was doing between age 12 and age 30, but we can assume that they were pretty ordinary considering that after Jesus had started his ministry (between 30 and 33) he returned to Nazareth where the people were wondering where the local boy they knew had acquired the ability to perform miracles and teach so well.

They said, "Isn't this the carpenter's son?  Isn't his mother Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?  And aren't all his sisters with us?  Where did he get all these things?"  Their reaction leads to a few natural assumptions on my part.  First of all, it appears from several places that Joseph, the father, was dead by the time Jesus was 30 and before he died, Joseph and Mary had other children (at least four other boys and at a minimum of two girls), Jesus being the firstborn of Mary.  Since he had spent the greater portion of his youth until age 30 just hanging out in Nazareth, he was known to many as Jesus the Nazarene.

Roger's last question, "Or did I miss something along the way?" is a pretty natural one.  Because Jesus is such an important figure in world history, it's pretty normal for people to want to have more information on his life.  There were four major books in the Bible written about Jesus' life (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).  Within a few hundred years, there were several fictional accounts written about Jesus by a group called the Gnostics.  Christianity has from its earliest day been open to everyone, but the Gnostics were into hidden knowledge or secret learning and creating some pretty wild stories about Jesus doing miracles as a kid fit their belief system better than the generally known account of Jesus.

Sometime in the future I'll have to talk about miracles, because that seems to be a big deal for some people, but miracles in the Bible seem to happen mostly around the times that new teaching is being revealed and then they seem to be less common at other times.  It seems as though Jesus may have performed no miracles for the first 30 years of his life and then performed many miracles in the three years he was actively teaching.

Love the questions in the postings on the blogs.  I try to read everything and will respond as I have time.  I really wish there were a better way to discuss ideas amongst posters on this blog.  As a teacher I really enjoy the teaching learning process.  I hope open and interesting thoughts keep coming.  Thanks, Roger.

Flood Leaves with Leaves

The other day, I posted some photos of Avila Beach covered in apples.  This was the result of a flooded orchard that had been stripped of its fruit with the resulting debris washing up on the beach in the same manner as seaweed.

We were back at Avila today and I noticed something equally odd.  I found a different apple orchard that had flooded, but instead of taking the fruit, the water had removed all the leaves from the trees, but left the apples on the branches.

This produced the very odd scene shown in these photos I took.  Rows upon rows of trees with only the fruit remaining.  It was so funny looking, almost like they were decorative topiaries instead of living plants.

Washington Crossing the Delaware

Most people are familiar with Emanuel Leutze's famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware.  It commemorates the famous crossing of the river 234 years ago yesterday in preparation of his surprise attack on the Hessian soldiers at Trenton, New Jersey.

This morning, on the website Boston 1775, the less famous poem, Washington Crossing the Delaware, was highlighted.  The poem is a sonnet written in 1936 by David Shulman, an eccentric wordsmith and champion Scrabble player.  Here is his work:

A hard, howling, tossing water scene.
Strong tide was washing hero clean.
"How cold!" Weather stings as in anger.
O Silent night shows war ace danger!

The cold waters swashing on in rage.
Redcoats warn slow his hint engage.
When star general's action wish'd "Go!"
He saw his ragged continentals row.

Ah, he stands - sailor crew went going.
And so this general watches rowing.
He hastens - winter again grows cold.
A wet crew gain Hessian stronghold.

George can't lose war with's hands in;
He's astern - so go alight, crew, and win!

If you're like me, you're probably thinking, "So what!  I've read better poetry."  True, but the amazing thing about this work is it's an anagram (scrambled letters rearranged) of the phrase "Washington Crossing the Delaware," each and every line!

Shulman, the founder of the American Cryptogram Association, did all of this before computers could even assist him in his effort.  He was noted in his day for sending in corrections to the Oxford English Dictionary, considered the authority on the English language and it's origins.

Person-of-Mystery

The mystery theme for today is "Savior of the world."

Who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  All those who guess correctly and place their trust in him will be given eternal life.

Okay, obviously it's Jesus.  He fascinates me more than any other person in history.  His coming was foretold by Hebrew prophets hundreds of years before his birth, but he came in a most unusual way.  Born to a poor virgin in an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire, his arrival was overlooked by those who should have been watching, but announced by angels to shepherds in the night.

What I like about the picture above is that it seems a little more real to me than many of the tinseled renditions.  No glowing baby, no halo – rather dark and dirty and ordinary.  Most people didn't recognize Jesus as anyone special.  The Bible says there was nothing about his appearance to attract people to him, but many were drawn to him.  Full of compassion, he spent his life teaching people how to love God and each other.

Although normal in appearance, he spoke with authority and challenged the rich and powerful.  He claimed to be God in a human body and was mocked for his beliefs and yet he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, and brought the dead back to life.

He was loved by the unlovable and outcasts and was hated by the religious officials of his day.  He was falsely accused in the night, tried, and executed, but he willingly submitted to a humiliating and painful death, offering himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Proving himself to be God, he rose from the dead and then returned to Heaven promising to come again one day to judge the earth.

I know Jesus was probably not born on December 25, but I can't think of a more appropriate reason to celebrate a special day.

I would like to wish all my readers, but especially my regulars and posters, a most joyful and tender Christmas!

Tobacco Mosaic Disease

Did you know that the first virus was discovered by the Dutch microbologist Martinus Beijerinck in 1898?  Beijerinck used filtration experiments to prove that something smaller than a bacterium caused tobacco mosaic disease in plants.

(Beijerinck in his lab)

The tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infects a variety of plants including tobacco, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and many more, but does not infect animals.  It has been responsible for up to two percent of North Carolina's tobacco loss every year and is particularly terrible for greenhouse crop growers.

(Tobacco Mosaic Disease)

Although this virus has been known for over 100 years, recently scientists have discovered a new use for this terrible pathogen.  You see, TMV nanorods are the right size and shape to bond to lithium battery electrodes, thereby dramatically increasing the surface area of the electrode.  TMV is self-replicating, self-assembling and can bind to metal without a bonding agent.

So what does this mean in practical terms?  It may mean that we could produce batteries of the same size that can hold 10 times the charge.  Your cell phone could run for a week or more without needing to be charged.  You could use your laptop all day without plugging in and it could stay running in sleep mode for the better part of a year.  Environmentally, it means that we might need much less energy production for the same result!

Rain Rain Go Away

More rain for us out here, 9.5 inches since Friday!  We're in the middle of some storm!  The governor has finally declared a state of emergency for our county.

Having three boys, we were going a little stir crazy, so we went out to check on the grandparents' home in Avila Beach as they're away visiting cousins in New Mexico.  Here are a few shots from that visit.

After checking on the house to make sure everything was okay, we took a quick swim in the community pool.  From the log book, it looked like no one had been to the pool in two days.

(Tim and Jonathan about to receive a surprise cannonball from their father)

We stayed until it started raining again, but before we got back to the house it hailed on us!  That's just a step away from snow!  So we took a quick trip down to the beach to check out the surf.

Along the way we caught a pretty nifty rainbow.

(Tim and Andrew above Avila Beach)

(Double rainbow over the yacht club)

Along the beach we encountered a sight I've never seen, thousands of washed up apples!

(Impromptu Christmas tree with apple decorations)

(Jonathan with his drift-gourd collection)

So we drove up the road to figure out where all the produce came from.  We eventually found the aptly named Creekside Farms.

(The source of the beached apples)

Happy Times

It's still raining out here, so I went back to the attic and scanned one of my more favorite family photos out of the album.  These are my grandparents, Dick and Marymac.  I absolutely love the carefree pose.  I can't tell what event they were at.  It may be a Christmas or New Year Party as the nearby photos seem to indicate winter time.  It may also be a wedding, but I didn't notice any shots of the bride or groom.  Wherever they are, everyone seems to be having a ball!

The Wet West Coast

Wow, we're getting some kind of storm!  The last couple days have seen more than 200% of our average monthly rainfall.

So much rain has come down so quickly that it's starting to flood the lower areas.  The boys got a big kick out of the bike path (now a swimming pond).