Flooding on the Railroad Tracks

Photo courtesy: Denver Water Board. (circa - 1890s) Four men appraise the damage caused by a recent flood.

In the mid-1800s the Native American tribe of Arapaho Indians warned the settlers not to camp or build too close to the South Platte and Cherry Creek Rivers. They were told those rivers, especially at the confluence were prone to burst their banks during adverse conditions, causing devastation in their wake. Perhaps the newcomers felt they knew better than the native people because over and over, their built homes, businesses and railroads in inappropriate places regardless of the terrain.

Chedworth Roman Villa

On our visit to Chedworth Roman Villa, we were fortunate to see Sue Day at work demonstrating the ancient art of nalbinding. Sue has done extensive research on the technique (as well as many other long forgotten forms of knitting, weaving and dyeing.) Some time ago, she studied a Viking mitten at a museum, and re-created the centuries old design. She dyes and spins her own wool using all natural substances such as plants and berries. To learn more about Sue’s work, please go to: www.blotz.co.uk.

The brochure provided at the villa states: “Welcome to the ‘Golden Age’ of Roman Britain. I highly recommend a tour to view the following:

• View mosaics from suspended walkway

• See the newly-uncovered corridor mosaics

• Enjoy a multi-sensory presentation of the sights, smells and sounds of the Roman dining room and bath house
• Witness live archaeology and conservation on site

• Discover the remains of Roman dining room, bath houses, a water shrine, latrines and under floor heating and cooling systems
• View the snails that creep along the ancient walls. Brought by the Romans as a food source,  they are still there hiding under the layers of leaves during the winter months, and emerging in the spring -- It has been so for almost 2,000 thousand years. 

Joke

 

Wish I could give credit to the person who came up with this joke, because it is so funny.

Three Englishmen married women from different parts of the world.
The first man married a Greek girl. He told her she was to do the
dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days before he saw any
effect, but on the third day he came home to see a clean house and
dishes washed and put away.

The second man married a Thai girl. He gave his wife orders that she
was to do all the cleaning, the dishes and the cooking. The first day
he didn't see any results but the next day it was better. By the third day
he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done, and there was a
huge dinner on the table.

The third man married a girl from America. He ordered her to keep
the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot
meals on the table for every meal. The first day he didn't see
anything. The second day he didn't see anything either - but by the
third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a
little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed sufficiently for
him to make a sandwich and load the dishwasher.

He still has some difficulty when he urinates.

Wild Bill Hickok

 

A description of James Butler Hickok, as related by Leander P. Richardson, in his article "A Trip to the Black Hills," in 1877: 
                     
" I had been in town only a few moments when I met Charley Utter, better known in the West as "Colorado Charley," to whom I had a letter of introduction, and who at once invited me to share his camp while I remained in the region. On our way to his tent, we met J.B. Hickock, "Wild Bill," the hero of a hundred battles. Bill was Utter's "pardner," and I was introduced at once. Of course I had heard of him, the greatest scout in the West, but I was not prepared to find such a man as he proved to be. Most of the Western scouts do not amount to much. They do a great deal in the personal reminiscence way, but otherwise they are generally of the class described as "frauds." In "Wild Bill," I found a man who talked little and had done a great deal. He was about six-feet two inches in height, and very powerfully built; his face was intelligent, his hair blonde, and falling in long ringlets upon his broad shoulders; his eyes, blue and pleasant looked one straight in the face when he talked; and his lips, thin and compressed, were only partly hidden by a straw-colored moustache. His costume was a curiously blended union of the habiliments of the borderman and the drapery of the fashionable dandy. Beneath the skirts of his elaborately embroidered buckskin coat gleamed the handles of two silver-mounted revolvers, which were his constant companions. His voice was low and musical, but through its hesitation I could catch a ring of self-reliance and consciousness of strength. Yet he was the most courteous man I had met on the plains. On the following day I asked to see him use a pistol and he assented. At his request I tossed a tomato can about 15 feet into the air, both his pistols being in his belt when it left my hand. He drew one of them, and fired two bullets through the tin can before it struck the ground. Then he followed it along, firing as he went, until both weapons were empty. You have heard the expression "quick as lightning?" Well, that will describe "Wild Bill." He was noted all over the country for rapidity of motion, courage, and certainty of aim. Wherever he went he controlled the people around him, and many a quarrel has been ended by his simple announcement "This has gone far enough." Early in the forenoon of my third day in Deadwood, word was brought over to camp that he had been killed. We went immediately to the scene, and found that the report was true. He had been sitting at a table playing cards, when a dastardly assassin came up behind, put a revolver to his head and fired, killing his victim instantly. That night a miner's meeting was called, the prisoner was brought before it, his statement was heard, and he was discharged, put on a fleet horse, supplied with arms, and guarded out of town.* The next day, "Colorado Charley" took charge of the remains of the great scout, and announced that the funeral would occur at his camp. The body was clothed in a full suit of broad cloth, the hair brushed back from the pallid cheek. Beside the dead hero lay his rifle, which was buried with him. The funeral ceremony was brief and touching, hundreds of rough miners standing around the bier with bowed heads and tear-dimmed eyes, -- for with the better class "Wild Bill" had been a great favorite. At the close of the ceremony the coffin was lowered into a new made grave on the hill-side -- the first in Deadwood. And so ended the life of "Wild Bill," -- a man whose supreme physical courage had endeared him to nearly all with whom he came in contact, and made his name a terror to every Indian west of the Missouri." *He added this footnote: As I write the closing lines of this brief sketch, word reaches me that the slayer of Wild Bill has been re-arrested by the United State authorities, and after trail has been sentenced to death for willful murder. He is now at Yankton, D.T. awaiting execution. At the trial it was proved that the murdered was hired to do his work by gamblers who feared the time when better citizens should appoint Bill the champion of law and order--a post which he formerly sustained in Kansas border life, with credit to his manhood and his courage.

Telling Porky Pies – Lies (Cockney Slang)

Cockney rhyme began as a means for the London working class to “talk” to each other without others having a clue as to what was being said. Needless to say, the unsavory characters of London also adopted the language in an attempt to baffle the police force. In any event, sometimes the origin of the saying is hard to follow and convoluted, but after all, that was the idea!

By the way, to be born a “Cockney” one has to have been born within the sounds of Bow Bells Church in the East End of London. Following is a quick description of the slang, and the meaning.

Trouble and Strife = wife. I’m going home to the trouble and strife (wife).
Porky pies = lies. You're telling me porky pies again (lies).
Butcher’s hook = look. He was giving me a good butcher’s hook (look).
Apples and pears = stairs. The toilet is up the apples and pears (stairs).
Whistle and flute = suit. That’s a smart whistle you're wearing (suit).
Daisy roots = boots. I like your daisy roots (boots).
Skin and blister = sister. Hands off her; she’s my skin and blister (sister).
Barnet fair = head of hair. The girl has a beautiful barnet fair (head of hair).
Mutton Jeff = deaf. The poor man used to hear well, now he is mutton deaf (deaf).
Bowler hat= rat. I once thought he was my friend, but then he turned into a bowler hat (rat).
North and south = mouth. She has a right ‘ol north and south (mouth).
Tom and Dick = sick. I have to leave work because I’m Tom and Dick (sick).
Artful dodger = lodger. I need help paying the rent. I’ll have to take in an artful dodger (lodger).
Brown bread = dead. He was all right when I left him, then I found out he was brown bread (dead.)
Baker’s dozen = cousin. No, he’s not my brother; he’s my baker’s dozen (cousin).
Bill and Ben = writing pen. I don’t have a pencil, but I do have a Bill and Ben (pen).

Often several slang terms were used in conjunction such as:

“I was wearing my best Whistle and Flute (suit) walking down the Apple and Pears (stairs) when this Bowler Hat (rat) whom I used to consider a Baker's Dozen (cousin) asked if I’d been Tom and Dick (sick.) I told him I needed to get home to the Trouble and Strife (wife) because she had a real North and South (mouth) and I didn’t want to tell her any Porky pies (lies) because I could end up as Brown Bread (dead.)

Additional Beauty Hints

 

• Nail polish – Place your thick and “gummy” polish in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes…your polish will become thinner and manageable

• Deodorant - Mix 2 tablespoons of petroleum jelly, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, and 2 teaspoons of talcum powder together. Place in a double boiler (stirring all the time) until the mixture becomes a cream. When cool place in jars and use as you would any regular cream deodorant

• Stains on teeth – Mash a strawberry and brush it vigorously over your teeth. This will help remove those pesky stains

• Lasting perfume – Oily skin tends to hold perfume, therefore apply a little petroleum jelly and you’ll notice the fragrance lasts longer.  

Beauty Hints

ü  Facial scrub – mix a little water and about 1 tablespoon of oatmeal into a paste. Spread over your face and leave until the mask becomes “tight.” Finally rinse with lots of water rubbing to remove dead skin and cleanse pores

ü  Moisturizer - Wash face thoroughly and while still wet…rub in a little petroleum jelly. Keep adding water until the jelly has been completely absorbed, and is no longer greasy. You will be amazed at how good your skin feels after this treatment

ü  Blemish control - Use a dab of lemon juice to dry up a blemish

ü  Manicure special – Soak fingertips in one cup of warm water and half a lemon for approximately 5 minutes. Continue with your manicure.