aka "The Bear Fountain" at the Detroit Zoo.

Located in the center of the 125 acre Detroit Zoo (actually in Royal Oak, at 10 Mile [now I-696] and Woodward, 2 miles north of the Detroit city limits), the Bear Fountain was sculpted in 1939 by Corrado Parducci and formally named after the first president of the Zoological Society, Horace Rackham. Rackham was a Detroit industrialist (and a lawyer for and one of the original stockholders in Ford) in the days when Detroit was a far different city than it is today. He sold his 50 shares of stock for $12.5mil in 1919. Mr Rackham died in 1933. His widow provided the funds to create the fountain.

Parducci commented: "I didn't like that. I made it against my will. They wanted, Mrs. Rackham was sold on that, bears"
(He may not have liked it, but I'm willing to bet he liked the commission ...)

The two 10 foot tall bronze bears stand in the middle of a 75,000 gallon pool. The pool - a bit larger than 3 Olympic pools - is a splash pool in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter. It is one of the more popular items at the zoo.

My grandparents lived within walking distance of the zoo; I spent a lot of time there. Admission was free back then ... not now.

"Dangerous snow squalls brewing as arctic blast moves across the U.S."

"Throughout the day, whiteout conditions are possible along major U.S. Interstates, including I-90, I-81 and I-80, with some areas around the Great Lakes and in the Northeast forecast to see several inches of snow."

aka "Home, Sweet Home"

I'm sure I'm not the only one whose work took them to various hotels; here are two representatives of places I've called "home". On the left, a room in Washington, PA where I stayed for a month or so while supervising a test of coal mine equipment; that on the right my home for 2½ years (!!!) at an extended stay place on the DC beltway.

Wasn't sure how long the DC job would last and had trouble finding a place with a reasonable lease AND parking for a full size pickup. That job paid well but I never plan on being anywhere near DC ever again.

first posted by Jean on June 20, 2008

For those of you who believe - and even those who don't - Jean will need your prayers or best wishes tomorrow. May she return here soon.

Depression

is not
just another bad mood.
it is
day after day after day after day
talking myself out of
dying.

But not today.