March 28, 2022
We return to sites you might want to visit on an upcoming vacation, but for one reason or another, you are forbidden to visit. And we start with one you can visit. No, you can’t. Yes, you can. Keep reading – that confusion will be disconfused, or something like that.
On September 12, 1940, the entrance to the Lascaux Cave, France was discovered by 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat when his dog, Robot, fell in a hole. Ravidat returned to the scene with three friends, and they entered the cave through a 50 foot-deep shaft. The teenagers discovered a cave walls whose were covered with depictions of animals.
Over 600 wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of the cave. The paintings represent primarily large animals, and typical local contemporary fauna. They are the combined effort of many generations. The age of the paintings is now estimated at around 17,000 years.
The cave complex was opened to the public on July 14, 1948, and initial archaeological investigations began a year later. By 1955, carbon dioxide, heat, humidity, and other contaminants produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings.
Consequently, the cave was closed to the public in 1963, the paintings were restored to their original state.
A recreation on one section which began in 1970 was opened to the public in 1983. Another opened in 2012, and beginning in 2007, 500 people – including artists and engineers, architects and special-effects designers – collaborated on a unique project, using 3-D computer mapping, high-resolution scans and photographs to recreate the most exacting textures and colors of the cave. In 2015, a $62.5 million facsimile opened to the public.
Click on this link to view the incredible beauty of Lascaux Cave. Yes, you can.
Next. Apparently, there are quite a few abandoned islands around the world. But none are like Poveglia, which has been dubbed the world’s most haunted island. Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, of northern Italy.
For more than 100 years beginning in 1776, the island was used as a quarantine station for those suffering the plague and other diseases, and later as a mental hospital. The mental hospital closed in 1968, and the island has been vacant ever since. In 2014 the Italian state auctioned a 99-year lease of Poveglia to raise revenue, (the island would remain state property) hoping that the buyer would redevelop the hospital into a luxury hotel. The winning bid was rejected as too low. In 2015, a private group, “Poveglia per Tutti,” (Poveglia for Everyone) was hoping to raise $25-30 million for a plan to include “a public park, a marina, a restaurant, a hostel and a study center,” but the island is still vacant.
More on Wednesday.
👉 Some statements of wisdom for your consideration:
● The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.
● Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.
● Trust science. Studies show that if your parents didn’t have children there’s a high probability you won’t either.
● Only in math problems can you buy 60 cantaloupe melons and no one asks, “What is wrong with you?”
👉 Several weeks ago Bonnie and I drove to Akron, Ohio, to check an item off of my bucket list – to attend the PBA Tournament of Champions (professional bowling’s Super Bowl). For those who may have doubted that we were in attendance, take a look at this picture:
Just to the left of Shawn Maldonado’s elbow you can see half a head of someone clapping – that’s me. The right shoulder and the right side of the hair-do behind the man in the yellow shirt – that’s Bonnie. If you want to look for a clearer view of both of us (and some folks watching live says there was) click on this link and watch the rest of the tournament.
👉 We haven’t been to Indian Hills Community Center for a while. They are still at it. And they supply our Monday puns today.
🛐 Today’s close, “A Prayer for When Things Don’t Go as Planned,” is by Kristine Brown.
I had big plans. With our youngest child out of the nest, I began sorting through the many ideas I had for the next phase of life. What would all this newfound free time bring? The possibilities seemed endless. Only, I never considered the word cancer to be on that list of possibilities.
Suddenly my anticipation for the weeks and months ahead took a drastic turn. Hopes for the next season didn’t hold the same promise as all the things written in my planner. The adventures waiting for me to check them off one-by-one, now erased and replaced with treatments, doctor’s appointments, and rest.
When the plans we’ve made in life change course, our feelings can also change. We trade our excitement and anticipation for dread or discouragement. But even in the hardest situations, God will offer blessings in the most unexpected ways.
Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Planning is important. The ability to chart a course for our future is a gift from God. Yet so many times God will guide us in a new direction. One we never expected. The steps he establishes for us may take us somewhere we never intended for ourselves. They may even take us somewhere we don’t want to go. But we can be sure of this. God’s blessings don’t stop just because our circumstances change.
Let’s thank God today for those times when things don’t go as we planned. We can trust Him as we anticipate the steps he establishes for us.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your guidance and direction. Because you are designing the path ahead of me, I have nothing to fear. I enjoy setting goals and having dreams for the future, but you know what’s best for me. You are the author of my story.
Your Word says that you “establish my steps,” even when I make my own plans. I may write things on my calendar, but I will also remain open to change when things don’t go the way I expected. Help me to accept your path, even when it looks nothing like what I thought or takes me places I didn’t want to go. Your ways are not my ways, and I trust you in all things.
Lord, today open my eyes to the blessing on this journey you’ve chosen for me. Help me see the truth of your promises. You will never leave me, and you have great plans for my future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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