Quote for the Day

Short Story

Author unknown

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair. At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence - deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Quote for the day

Moments in History

Following its construction in 1902 the SS Eastland was discovered to have design flaws making it susceptible to listing. The ship was top-heavy with its centre of gravity being too high. This became evident when passengers congregated en masse on the upper decks. In July 1903, a case of overcrowding caused the Eastland to list with water flowing up one of the ship's gangplanks. The situation was quickly rectified but this was the first of many incidents. It listed again in 1906. 

In 1915, the new federal Seamen's Act had been passed because of the RMS Titanic disaster three years earlier. The law required retrofitting of a complete set of lifeboats on the Eastland, as on many other passenger vessels. This additional weight, ironically, probably made the Eastland more dangerous as it worsened the already severe problem of being top-heavy. The Eastland was already so top-heavy that it had special restrictions concerning the number of passengers that could be carried. 

As at 1915, the Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours.

On the morning of 24 July 1915, whilst docked in Chicago on the Chicago River, pople began boarding the Eastland, quickly reaching capacity at 2,572 passengers. Many passengers stood on the open upper decks, causing the ship to list slightly to the port side (away from the wharf). The crew attempted to stabilise the ship by admitting water to its ballast tanks, but to little avail. Sometime in the next 15 minutes, a number of passengers rushed to the port side, and at 7:28, the Eastland lurched sharply to port, and then rolled completely onto its side, coming to rest on the river bottom, which was only 6 metres (20 feet) below the surface. Many other passengers had already moved below decks on this relatively cool and damp morning to warm up before the departure. Consequently, hundreds were trapped inside by the water and the sudden rollover; others were crushed by heavy furniture, including pianos, bookcases, and tables. Although the ship was only 6 metres from the wharf, and in spite of the quick response by the crew of a nearby vessel, the Kenosha, which came alongside the hull to allow those stranded on the capsized vessel to leap to safety, a total of 844 passengers and four crew members died in the disaster. It remains the largest loss of life from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

Following the disaster, the Eastland was salvaged and sold to the United States Navy. After restorations and modifications the Eastland was designated as a gunboat and renamed the USS Wilmette. She was used primarily as a training vessel on the Great Lakes, and was scrapped following World War II.

View of Eastland from the south side of river after the accident

Passengers being rescued.

Diver and other rescue workers recover victim of Eastland disaster. 

Small boats attempt to rescue survivors gathered on the exposed side of the excursion boat SS Eastland

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Al Capone’s cell

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Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for President of the United States. 

Her running mate was Frederick Douglass, the first African-American to run for Vice President.

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The Annex occupied by Anne Frank, her family and four others. After living there for two years and one month, they were anonymously betrayed to the Nazi authorities, arrested, and deported to their deaths in concentration camps. Anne Frank’s father survived and later published her diary.

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Lieutenant Commander John McCain, photographed as he was forcibly dragged from the wreckage of his A-4E Seahawk after being shot down over Hanoi. 

John McCain (1936 - ) followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, becoming a naval aviator. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture, and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, he served two terms, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election four times, most recently in 2010. McCain was the Republican candidate defeated by Obama in the 2008 Presidential election.

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Queen Elizabeth II inspecting sheep at Wagga Wagga on her 1954 Royal Tour.

Prime Minister Robert "British to my boot heels" Menzies delivers his cringeworthy homage to Queen Elizabeth 11 during her 1954 tour of Australia by quoting from Thomas Ford's poem There is a Lady Sweet and Kind, the words:

"I did but see her passing by

And yet I love her till I die."

No Bytes on Tuesday

Because I will be away from my computer from this evening, there won't be a Bytes on Tuesday.

Back on Wednesday, speak to you all then.

Quote for the day

Monday Miscellany: odds, ends and personals

Not long ago I posted a series of pics about the papercut art of Maude White. Those works are so detailed that it is hard to believe that they have been created out of paper with a scalpel.

The art of papercutting is ancient and varied, having evolved out of unique and different cultural styles.

The oldest surviving paper cut out is a symmetrical circle from the 6th century Six Dynasties period found in Xinjiang China. By the eighth or ninth century papercutting appeared in West Asia and in Turkey in the 16th century. Within a century, papercutting was being done in most of middle Europe.

Some cultural examples:

China:

Jianzhi is a traditional style of papercutting in China. Jianzhi has been practised in China since at least the 6th century AD and has a number of distinct uses in Chinese culture, almost all of which are for health, prosperity or decorative purposes. Red is the most commonly used colour. Jianzhi cuttings often have a heavy emphasis on Chinese characters symbolizing the Chinese zodiac animals.

Chinese papercuttings in a shop

Indonesia:

Indonesian traditional art has been influenced by traditional Chinese Artisans. Batik is an Indonesian traditional art and paper cutting. Batik is framed in profile to expose the intricate detail of Batik.

Indonesian papercut displayed between glass sheets

India:

Sanjhi is the Indian art of paper cutting. The cut paper is usually placed on the floor and colours are filled in to make Rangoli, decorative patterns on floors and entrances as welcoming signs for Hinu deities.

Intricate Indian papercut

An example of Rangoli

Jewish culture:

Papercutting has been a common Jewish art form since the Middle Ages, connected with various customs and ceremonies, and associated with holidays and family life. Paper cuts often decorated marriage contracts, walls and plaques, and for ornaments on festive occasions. 

Jewish papercut, 19th century

Poland:

Polish wycinanki became a popular folk craft in the mid-1800s and originated with shepherds cutting designs out of tree bark and leather. Colorful wycinanki were pasted on furniture or roof beams as decoration, hung in windows, and given as gifts. The art varies by region, some being monotone and pthers brightly coloured. Techniques include cutting, clipping, punching, tearing, and carving of paper, as well as nalepianki in which multiple layers are glued together.  Subject matter includes peacocks, roosters, and other birds; circular or star-shaped medallions; flowers; and annual holidays such as Easter and Christmas.

Examples of Polish papercutting:

Magdalena Nowaka-Jannotta uses heavy sheep shears to make delicate cuts as she makes traditional Polish paper art.

Quote for the Day

Sydney Suburbs: Arncliffe - Ashbury

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ARNCLIFFE:

Location:

11 kilometres south of Sydney CBD.

Name Origin:

Arncliffe's name comes from a small village called Arncliffe in North Yorkshire, England. The name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, as 'Arneclif', meaning Eagle Cliff. When land speculator William Hirst, who was born in Yorkshire, created his subdivision in 1840 he called it The Village of Arncliffe Estate. The area did not become known as Arncliffe, however, for another 20 years, being originally called Cobblers Hill.

Comments:

Although Arncliffe began as the vegetable garden of Sydney, it is today a mostly residential area featuring low density detached and semi-detached houses and some medium density town houses and blocks of flats. There are also some areas of commercial and light industrial developments.

Gallery:

Arncliffe Railway Station

Arncliffe Railway Station, 1907

Arncliffe Railway Station, 1907

Arncliffe Post Office

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ARNDELL PARK:

Location:

A predominantly industrial suburb in the City of Blacktown in Western Sydney.

Name origin:

The suburb takes its name from Thomas Arndell who was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the settlement in New South Wales and arrived with the First Fleet. He later joined Captain Tench in 1789 in the journey of exploration from Prospect Hill to the Nepean River.

Gallery:

Memorial plaque for Thomas Arndell in Windsor NSW, his final resting place.

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ARTARMON:

Location:

9 kilometres north-west of Sydney

Name origin:

The suburb is believed to be named after the land granted to William Gore in 1810. Gore had arrived in Sydney in 1805 with Governor Bligh, who appointed him to the position of Provost-Marshall (equivalent to sheriff). Gore’s family home was Ardthelmon Castle (pronounced Art-e-mon), located near Raghley in Ireland, and the name was ‘adapted’ by Gore as Artarmon Estate. His residence from 1818 was a modest cottage on the estate named Artarmon House, which was replaced by a grand residence (also called Artarmon House) in 1869.

Comments:

• During the 1850s orchards and market gardens were established in the area, while bricks were made in the area from 1828. By 1889, the brick industry at Gore Hill was the largest in New South Wales, and it laid the foundation for the establishment of the Artarmon Industrial Area in the 1950s.

• The opening of the North Shore Railway on 1 January 1890 paved the way for Willoughby’s estates to be subdivided for residential development, but it was not until the opening of Artarmon railway station in 1898 that Artarmon Estate was subdivided and the urbanisation of the suburb commenced.

Gallery:

Hampden Road shopping centre, 1907

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ASHBURY:

Location:

9 kilometres south-west of Sydney.

Name origin:

The suburb was originally known as Goodlet’s Bush after an early settler, John Hay Goodlet. In 1926 a local primary school changed its name from South Ashfield to Ashbury Public School, being located between Ashfield and Canterbury and using the first and last syllables of those two names to form “Ashbury”.

Comments:

Back when I first moved to Ashfield, Ashbury was known for a giant hole in the ground that was being filled by being used as a tip. My God, it stank. Today that same hole and tip is a park, Peace Park, 

Gallery:

John Hay Goodlet

Peace Park

Peace Park