Take 'em As I Find 'em

There they are, a whole crowd of porcelain doll heads, all facing forward awaiting a new assignment. No hair, painted hair, or crooked and matted hair, these dolls have seen better days. Some eyes are painted on, others are glass, while many are missing altogether. No matter, they all have the same vacant stare and appear a bit, well, cracked. 

And how many glassy-eyed drivers side-swiped this utility pole before a piece of steel was installed to protect it from further harm? Based on the many deep scratches and gouges, shielding the pole was definitely necessary because few drivers seemed to have avoided it, before or since.

Cowardly Lion and the Grinch

Detail from a window on the west side of the lounge of the Scottish Rite Cathedral

These pictures were taken in the lounge of the Scottish Rite Cathedral of Indianapolis. The first and second images are details of windows designed and installed in 1975 by the Willet Stained Glass Studio of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I refer to them as the "Cowardly Lion" and the "Grinch" because I think they closely resemble those characters.

Detail from window on west side of lounge.

Located in downtown Indianapolis, the Scottish Rite Cathedral was designed by architect George F. Schreiber in the Neo-Gothic style. Built in 1927-1929, its proportions are divisible by three, representing the three degrees of Free Masonry. It is the largest Masonic building in the United States.

One of the eight windows on the east side
of the Cathedral lounge, representing
mechanical and civil engineering

The stained glass windows on the east side of the lounge are dedicated to the arts and sciences: engineering, electricity, sculpture, architecture, art, music, law and medicine. They were created by the Von Gerichten Glass Company of Munich, Germany, where they were made and Columbus, Ohio where they were assembled, then installed in 1929.
   

Stained glass window depicting the artist
and his model in his studio

The Von Gerichten Art Glass Studio was established in 1891 at Cullman, Alabama by Ludwig Von Gerichten, who had immigrated from Germany to the United States. In 1893, joined by his brother Theodore, they moved the business to Columbus, Ohio where it was called Capitol City Glass Company. As the business's reputation grew, the brothers again changed its name in 1898 to The Von Gerichten Art Glass Company.

From the time the brothers opened their business until it was was closed in the late 1930's, the company created over 1800 windows for approximately 850 churches in the United States. In 1914, they opened a studio in Munich where Ludwig spent much of his time, while Theodore remained in Columbus. Unfortunately, a lot of the company's clients felt that German craftsmanship was superior to American work. Since all the work was done by German artisans, there was no foundation to this prejudice. The result was that work was often done in Germany at added expense, then brought to the US for assembly and installation. Such was the case with the Scottish Rite windows.

From time to time, I meet a group of friends for lunch at the Cathedral, which is why I had the opportunity to take these pictures. I will return in the near future to add to this little portfolio of beautiful color and craftsmanship, which I promise to share.

This 'n' That

Inducing claustrophobia, this alley way is barely wide enough to accommodate
the delivery trucks which enter and leave daily.

I pass by this alley way every time I'm downtown. I always look to see what's going on there, if anything. I look at them all, but I don't want to enter because I don't like the feeling of being crowded. I want to move, to keep looking at stuff, to see what's out there, just beyond. All the walls seem to say is, "Nothing here, ma'm, nothing here but a sharply delineated perspective. Move along now."

And I do, because I want to see things like the Stars of the Peking Acrobats, spinning plates or balancing themselves on a stack of chairs on bottles. The bleachers in this little outdoor venue were full of admirers, who applauded enthusiastically for the acrobats' demonstrations of balance, strength and agility.

Then there was a little circus act from the International Circus Hall of Fame, located at Peru, Indiana. The "King" worked with a group of trained goats, a donkey and a rooster. I only saw the end of the act, but those goats knew their routine so well they anticipated their next moves. All, that is, except for the goat who added a trick of his own: having found that one of the does was in heat, he eagerly performed his services even as they all exited the ring together. 

This time next year, the act may have added a couple more members.

A line of local ladies demonstrated their belly dancing skills to interested observers. The tent was full of appreciative onlookers who recognized the importance of keeping the muscles of one's "pelvic floor" well-toned and functioning.

All these sights, and they were free!

But I'm still upset that I missed the Blue Monkey Sideshow.

*Sigh.* Maybe next year.

Pretty Fair Feet

Princess Feet

Wandering around the Fairgrounds all day was something I really enjoyed. However, I didn't leave the house without planning exactly what shoes and socks I was going to wear. It was always down to my trusty New Balance walking shoes and a nice pair of sport socks. With the socks carefully pulled on my feet so there's be no wrinkles to make blisters and the laces carefully tied to prevent swelling, I knew I could be on my feet for the entire day without problem.

Waiting for hand-dipped ice cream at the IDA Dairy Bar

Still, it is with more than a bit of envy I gazed longingly at the pretty shoes and sandals worn by a lot of young women. I have short, wide feet and pretty is not an option for me. I joke that my feet are just long enough to keep me from tipping over, but it hurts nonetheless to know that Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik do not make any of their prettiest confections to fit an 8DD foot.

If I were cast in Cinderella, I would always be one of the Evil Stepsisters; my feet would let me down because I'd never fit the Glass Slipper. I'd always have to watch as a gold digger with small feet won the Handsome Prince while me with my wide feet would have to love him from afar.

Guess which is my foot

With my camera and a notebook in my tote, or even just in my pocket, I can cover miles and miles as I walk and take pictures. I see a lot of interesting, beautiful things and talk to a lot of  kind and intelligent people. It's my short, wide feet that carry me on these little adventures, something I couldn't do in a pair of sapphire blue satin open-toed pumps.

I'd just have to lie on my back as I gazed at a pair of beautiful shoes. Something tells me that's where they really intend for me to be, anyway.

Testosterone Poisoning

Some of you may remember a similar picture from an earlier post, Pancake in the Creek. It is a spiny soft-shelled turtle, formal name Apalone spinifera. This one is small, just a baby compared to his cousins and the more commonly known snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina.


Earlier this week, I read a post on Julie Zickefoose's blog, "Snapperfest: The World Is Watching," about a community gathering in Ohio County, Indiana, during which otherwise grown men (and women) take part in an activity to prove their masculinity. Yeah, sure. See the video on Julie's post or here.


Both soft-shell and common snapping turtles are put into a trough, the contestant runs up to the trough, pulls a turtle out by its tail and runs back to a mat. There, against the stop watch, he shoves his hand into the turtle's shell, pulls out its head then grabs it around the neck, holding it up proudly for the cheering crowd to see. If the contestant's effort is not successful and the turtle manages to bite his finger, someone is designated to step in, kill the turtle so the contestant's finger can be retrieved. In these cases, of course, it is the turtle that dies due to the man's  contestant's poor judgement.



I am surmising that this amoral and cruel contest was born out of a bar bet. We all know that on more occasions than we care to admit, grown men get so caught up in proving their manhood that the testosterone/alcohol mixture takes over, they overdose and do stupid things. This must've been an activity invented by men sitting around; bored and full of beer, they dared each other to prove their manhood -- 

"Hell, you ain't got no balls unless you can pull a snapper's haid out of its shell." 


And so a "community tradition"  came into being. 
The people of the community would have you believe that outsiders are interfering, trying to destroy a part of their "culture." This year was the 15th annual renewal of this event. Does fifteen years constitute a cultural tradition? Really?

The people of the region will probably also have you believe that the turtles aren't harmed by this activity. Watch that tape and ask yourself whether you, your child, your cats or dogs, or any living thing should be treated the way those so-called adult males are treating those turtles. Is this what it takes to be considered a man? Is this what is required in that "culture" for a grown-ass man to prove his worth? 


Shit, just when I'd thought I'd left that sort of intellectual pygmy behind, I find it's still just beyond my back door.

Photo of "Spiny Snapper" by Gloria Degitz

The photo above was sent to me by a friend who's aware of my interest in turtles. It was taken by a photographer in Hannibal, Missouri who saw this turtle walking up the sidewalk in front of her home. Her name is Gloria Degitz.
Please, check out her beautiful wildlife photography at the Hannibal Alliance Art Gallery.   

Different, Yet Alike

Over the days I wandered the grounds looking for pictures of the Indiana State Fair, it was inevitable I would find things that related to each other, even accidentally. On the first day I saw the sunflower,  already withered but wearing a shiny blue ribbon as the largest of its class.


On the last day I took pictures, I visited the Indiana Department of Natural Resources building. They have outdoor gardens and water displays with native fish species. Shaded and with plenty of places to sit, the building is a popular place for families to visit. Near the front entrance, is this fountain, with its dimpled surface and water falling from the rim, peacefully echoing the structure of the sunflower.

Comfortractor, Agin

Yesterday, one of my missions was to take more pictures of the Comfortractor, featured in an earlier post. I went to the spot where it had been only to find it was GONE! All that was left was the patch of sunburned, matted grass on which it'd been standing. I wondered whether it had been sold, stolen or just taken away by its owner. Disappointed I went off to meet my brother and sister-in-law for lunch. Together with her sister and husband, we all enjoyed lunch and a nice visit at one of the "pork tents," then went off to visit other venues.


I went on to take pictures of the wheelwrights making a cart, then looked in on a group of blacksmiths. I happened to look up. There, in the storage shed, in all its orange gloriousness, was my beloved Comfortractor. It was hooked up to a trickle charger, possibly in preparation for the evening's tractor parade.

Of course, I took more pictures, this time of its interior.

I hope you enjoy this idiosyncratic beastie as much as I have.

How could you not?