At start of Sochi Olympics, State Department issues Russia travel warning

On the same day as the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, the U.S. Department of State distributed a travel alert that, while couched in diplomatic language, seems designed to discourage American citizens from attending the Olympics this month.

Here's how the travel alert -- which I received by email -- begins:

The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens planning to attend the 2014 Olympic Games in Russia that they should remain attentive regarding their personal security at all times. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place in Sochi, Russia, from February 7 to March 16, 2014. This travel alert replaces the alert issued on January 24, 2014, and provides updated information on reported threats against the Games, cyber-security risks, identification requirements, and lodging. This Travel Alert expires on March 24, 2014. Full information about the Olympic and Paralympic games for U.S. citizen visitors is available on the Sochi Fact Sheet and the Country Specific Information for the Russian Federation on our website, travel.state.gov. The Department strongly recommends that all U.S. citizens residing or traveling abroad enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) in order to receive pertinent safety and security information.

The State Department advisory goes on to note potential problems with medical care, hotel room availability, terrorism, crime, and cybersecurity and none of the language is likely to promote confidence in anyone's capacity to remain safe in Sochi:

MEDICAL CARE: The Olympics are the first large-scale event to be held in Sochi and medical capacity and infrastructure in the region are untested for handling the volume of visitors expected for the Olympics. Medical care in many Russian localities differs substantially from Western standards due to differing practices and approaches to primary care. Travelers should consider purchasing private medical evacuation and/or repatriation insurance.

Western Russia (Source: Central Intelligence Agency)

LODGING: There may be shortages of hotel rooms during the Olympics. Some hotels are still under construction, and there are reports that some rooms booked in advance have not been available upon arrival. Advertised rates for standard rooms are currently $300-1,000 per night.

TERRORISM: Large-scale public events such as the Olympics present an attractive target for terrorists, and the U.S. government continues to monitor reported threats of potential terrorist attacks in Sochi or in Russia in general. Acts of terrorism, including bombings and hostage takings, continue to occur in Russia, particularly in the North Caucasus region. Between October 15 and December 30, 2013, there were three suicide bombings targeting public transportation in the city of Volgograd (600 miles from Sochi), two of which occurred within the same 24-hour period. In early January 2014, media reports emerged about the possible presence of so-called "black widow" suicide bombers in Sochi. These reports have not been corroborated, and the U.S. government continues to seek further information. Other bombings over the past 10-15 years occurred at Russian government buildings, airports, hotels, tourist sites, markets, entertainment venues, schools, and residential complexes. There have also been large-scale attacks on public transportation including subways, buses, trains, and scheduled commercial flights, in the same time period. On January 11, 2014 Russia implemented a "no liquids" policy for carry-on bags on flights originating within Russia in response to potential security threats against commercial aircraft. In line with the Government of Russia's actions, on February 6, 2014, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration implemented similar precautionary measures for direct flights between the United States and Russia.

In July 2013, Doku Umarov, the head of the Caucasus Emirate (an organization the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 2010, and known in Russian as the Imirat Kavkaz or IK) released a video message rescinding prior directions not to attack civilians and calling for attacks on the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The Caucasus Emirate is responsible for many of the aforementioned attacks. The group has targeted civilians, as indirect supporters of the government, including through attacks on a ski resort, metro system, high-speed rail, airport, and a theater. Westerners have not specifically been targeted, but are viewed by IK as complicit in the Russian government's efforts to control the North Caucasus region. In January 2014, another video was released by a radical Islamist group claiming responsibility for the Volgograd bombings and promising "a present for tourists" in connection with the Olympic Games in Sochi.

Travelers to Sochi should expect increased police presence and enhanced security measures in and around the Olympic venues. There is no indication of a specific threat to U.S. institutions or citizens, but U.S. citizens should be aware of their personal surroundings and follow good security practices. U.S. citizens are urged to remain vigilant and exercise good judgment and discretion when using any form of public transportation. When traveling, U.S. citizens may wish to provide a friend, family member, or coworker a copy of their itinerary.

The U.S. Embassy will continue to monitor the security situation in Sochi throughout the Olympics. In the event the U.S. government receives information of any specific and credible threat, the Department of State will immediately provide information to the public. Information about potential threats to safety and security can be found on the Embassy's website and the Department of State's travel website. Individuals who have enrolled in STEP will receive this information directly via email.

CRIME: U.S. citizens planning to attend the Games in Sochi should remain alert regarding their personal security at all times. Criminal activity in Sochi is similar to other cities of comparable size. However, major events such as the Olympic Games are a prime opportunity for criminal elements to target tourists, and travelers should be alert to the possibility of mugging, pick pocketing, theft, and harassment. Travelers should avoid going out alone at night and carrying large amounts of money or other valuables. Since cash may be the only accepted form of payment outside Olympic venues, consider keeping money in a hotel safe or dividing money and placing it in several different locations on your person. Purses, wallets, cell phones, and electronics should be secured in public, especially while traveling on buses, trains, or other forms of public transportation. Travelers should only use marked taxi services and prearrange transportation through hotel concierge or other reputable services whenever possible. If you are stopped by the police, you may ask to see the officer's identification. Photocopies of passports, visas, credit cards, and other important documents should be kept in a secure location so proper notifications can be made if original documents are lost or stolen.

CYBER SECURITY: U.S. travelers should be aware of cyber security threats and understand that they have no expectation of privacy when sharing sensitive or personal information utilizing Russian electronic communication networks.

Finally, the State Department travel warning notes that the Russian police have a "papers please!" policy, that freedom of expression is limited, and that Russia is not a welcoming environment for gay people:

IDENTIFICATION: Russian police officers have the authority to stop people and request identity and travel documents at any time and without cause. Due to the possibility of random document checks by police, U.S. citizens are strongly advised to carry at all times their original passports, Russian visas, hotel registration, and migration cards (issued at the airport upon entry into Russia.)

PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS: U.S. citizens should avoid large crowds in areas that lack enhanced security measures. Use caution in any areas where protests, demonstrations, or other public disturbances are taking place. Demonstrations intended to be peaceful can develop quickly and unpredictably, sometimes turning violent.

On January 10, Vice Prime Minister Dmitriy Kozak announced that the Sochi authorities have determined that the village of Khost, located seven miles from the Olympic venues, will be the designated area for political demonstrations during the Winter Olympics. Demonstrations must be unrelated to the Olympics and the organizers must receive permission prior to the event from the regional authorities of the Ministry of Interior and the Federal Security Service (FSB). It is also worth noting that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter states "no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) ISSUES: In June 2013, Russia's State Duma passed a law banning the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" to minors. The U.S. government understands that this law applies to both Russian citizens and foreigners in Russia. Russian citizens found guilty of violating the law could face a fine of up to 100,000 rubles ($3,100). Foreign citizens face similar fines, up to 14 days in jail, and deportation. The law makes it a crime to promote LGBT equality in public, but lacks concrete legal definitions for key terms. Russian authorities have indicated a broad interpretation of what constitutes "LGBT propaganda," and provided vague guidance as to which actions will be interpreted by authorities as "LGBT propaganda." LGBT travelers should review the State Department's LGBT Travel Information page.

RLC Rejects TSA's Assault on Passenger Privacy Rights

From the national office of the Republican Liberty Caucus -- what I like to call "the Republican wing of the Republican Party" -- comes this press release about the TSA:

For Immediate Release: November 17, 2010

Republican Liberty Caucus Rejects Transportation Security Administration's Assault on Passenger Privacy Rights

AUSTIN, TX -- The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) denounces the recent changes in the airport passenger screening practices of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

RLC Chairman Dave Nalle said the intrusive nature of new TSA procedures draws attention to the fundamental flaws in the government's strategy of attempting to address the threat of terrorism through increasingly draconian domestic security measures.

"In the name of public safety, government agencies have been given more and more power at great cost to our civil liberties and in violation of the Bill of Rights," Nalle said. "The emergence of an unaccountable state security apparatus in America is a reminder of Ben Franklin's maxim that 'they who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety'."

"The new TSA procedures of giving randomly selected passengers a choice between a full body, backscatter x-ray scan and an intrusive, hands-on body search are unacceptable," Nalle contends. "These searches are a clear violation of our 4th Amendment rights, because they are not reasonable and are carried out with no probable cause. The increase in security at airports with more technology and more violation of the privacy rights of passengers cannot be justified on the basis of any increase in the threat of terrorism, because there has been no such increase," Nalle explained.

The Republican Liberty Caucus believes that Americans have seen enough abuses of the Constitution and calls on the federal government to curb abuses by the TSA and other agencies. We recommend putting control of passenger security in the hands of the airlines, which have a vested interest in making sure that flights are safe. We also support Representative Ron Paul's "American Traveler Dignity Act" (H.R. 6416), which would make TSA employees accountable for their actions.

Nalle observed, "With the increasing level of government intrusion into our lives in the name of security, America reminds me too much of what I saw in the Soviet Union, where I lived as a teenager. How long will it be before police will be stopping us in the street at random to ask for our identity papers?"

The Republican Liberty Caucus, founded in 1991, exists to promote individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise within the Republican Party. Learn more and become a member at http://www.rlc.org/join-the-rlc/.

###

Related Links:

· RLC Legislators Working to Dismantle TSA Rules

· Actions You Can Take to Assert Your Rights

· Join the Resistance Movement on Facebook

· Follow the RLC on Facebook and at our Blog

An Interview with GayPatriot Blogger B. Daniel Blatt

University of Virginia law school alumnus B. Daniel Blatt blogs at the prominent and widely-read political web site, GayPatriot, which has had more than 3.6 million visitors since September 4, 2004.

Based in Los Angeles, Blatt is known as “GayPatriotWest” to distinguish him from East Coast co-blogger Bruce Carroll (“GayPatriot”).

GayPatriot has tried to be the focal point of conservative views from a gay perspective (and has largely succeeded in that task). As Blatt put it, the blog has proved to have “a potential to explain the gay experience to conservatives, and conservative ideas to gay people.”

I have known Dan Blatt for about two decades, dating at least to the time he worked for one of my opponents in my first race for the Virginia House of Delegates. (Needless to say, there are no hard feelings remaining from that 1991 special election.) He was one of the founders of the Log Cabin Republican Club of Northern Virginia, and I succeeded him as a member of the Arlington County Arts Commission when he moved to California in 1999. I only held that position for a few months before pulling up stakes myself and moving to Charlottesville later that year.

Now in the middle of a multi-city, cross-country trip, Blatt stopped in Charlottesville during Memorial Day weekend and I interviewed him over eggs and toast at the popular brunch spot, The Tavern (“where students, tourists, and townspeople meet”).

When he began blogging in October 2004 – just two months before I started this blog -- Blatt’s expectations and goals were inchoate. Referencing Tolkien’s remark about The Lord of the Rings, “the tale grew in the telling,” Blatt says about his blogging that “the expectations and goals grew in the blogging.”

Much of the satisfaction of blogging at GayPatriot comes from the reactions of readers, and emails Blatt receives from them. He identifies three types of “heartening” emails.

“The first,” he says, “are from gay conservatives that say, ‘Wow, this is what I’ve always thought and I’ve never found a voice in the gay community because it’s kind of an enforced police system -- Orwellian, almost.’

“The second type of emails,” he continues, come “from gay liberals who say, ‘Hey, look, you’re not going to convince me to be a conservative but I do see that you’re not self-hating. I no longer see gay conservatism as an oxymoron. I get where you’re coming from.’”

The third set of emails has been more sporadic, but Blatt occasionally gets them from social conservatives who say that GayPatriot helps them “see that not all gays are radical, looney-tune leftists who want to increase the power of the state and take away our freedoms as individuals.”

Blatt says that he hopes his blog will “promote a greater understanding and to show that the gay movement is not monolithic and that gay people are not monolithic and to show that … liberty is good for gay people,” just as “it’s good for conservatives.”

The blogger adds: “I prefer freedom to equality” and that he tries “to challenge the equality orthodoxy of the gay movement.”

I asked Blatt what he found satisfying about his blogging experience that he did not expect.

He paused to think about this before he answered, “The number of friendships that I would forge -- and I also did not expect that our blog would bring two readers together as a happy couple.”

He explained how this latter accomplishment came about:

“I have two friends whom I met in Los Angeles, [although] they weren’t friends before the blog,” that is, they became friends through the GayPatriot blog.

“These two men,” he continued, “met at an event sponsored by a reader of our blog for [other] blog readers. I had met each of them before and I wanted them to meet each other and now they’re boyfriend and boyfriend.”

Blatt beams when he relates this story. “It makes me feel really great that, while I may not have been a sort of yenta there, I certainly helped facilitate a romance. That’s the most unexpected pleasure” that blogging has brought his way.

I asked, only half-facetiously, if Match.com is an advertiser on GayPatriot. Blatt laughed and said, “You know, we should look into that.”

My next two questions were about the politicians whom Dan Blatt admires. One of those questions were a sort of curveball, but I anticipate using it in future interviews like this one.

When given the choice of naming any politician, living or dead, Blatt does not equivocate when he answers, slowly and deliberately, “Ronald Wilson Reagan.”

Among living politicians, he cites Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn.

“Right now, I have a great deal of respect for Tom Coburn,” he says. “I don’t always agree with Coburn. He said some funny things about lesbians in bathrooms during the 2004 campaign. Yet he’s been very, very, very good in trying to gum up the works of Obamacare,” and in “trying to remind Obama that he ran on a net spending cut,” noting also that Coburn “was a good friend of Obama in the Senate.”

Coburn, he says, “has stood firm on principle and he’s fought big government. Now, he’s not perfect. But he has been steadfast in standing up to big government.”

Among those politicians with whom he disagrees on the issues but nonetheless admires, Blatt mentions his home state senator, Dianne Feinstein.

“She always seems to express her disagreement in civil terms and shows respect for conservatives,” he explains. “I think she’s really a decent human being. She’s liberal, but she doesn’t treat conservatives with disdain.”

In recent weeks, Blatt has found himself blogging a lot about two topics. The first is the military gay ban, known more generally as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," or DADT.

“It’s the most important issue on the gay agenda right now,” Blatt says. He sees “an emerging consensus for repeal” and cites a Gallup poll from September 2009 “that showed that 57 percent of conservatives favor repeal.”

The other issue he has focused on is what he calls “the homosexual infiltration of the Tea Parties,” in contrast to the conventional media narrative that the Tea Party movement is rife with racists.

Blatt challenges that conventional narrative.

He argues that “any political movement -- any protest movement -- is going to attract some knuckleheads and cuckooheads. Certainly there are some cuckooheads attracted to the Tea Party just as they were attracted to anti-Bush rallies.”

He adds, emphatically but almost sotto voce, “There was a greater concentration of them in the anti-Bush rallies.”

Blatt asks, “If you’re going to do a media narrative about racism in the Tea Parties, shouldn’t you also talk about homosexual infiltration of the Tea Parties? Because by my estimate, there have been more gay people at Tea Parties than there have been racists.” He ticks off a list of gay people he knows in Washington, Chicago, Charlottesville, and other places who are participants in the Tea Party movement.

The media, he says, are missing this narrative “about gay people participating in Tea Parties.”

From Charlottesville, Blatt headed on to Raleigh, Charlotte, and Atlanta, where he will host a dinner for his blog readers, and eventually to Brattleboro, Vermont, where one of his readers is also hosting a dinner, before returning to California.

NOTE: A slightly different version of this interview was published on May 31 on Examiner.com.

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Choo-Choo Chugs Along

My post on October 2 about how Charlottesville-based travelers to Washington, D.C., have been flim-flammed by promoters of a new Amtrak train to the Nation's Capital has resulted in an invitation to be on the radio.

On Wednesday, October 28, from 12:05 to 1:00 p.m., I will be a guest on The Schilling Show on WINA-AM (1070 on the dial) in Charlottesville, to discuss passenger rail. John Pfaltz will also be on the show, to offer an alternate point of view.

I explained to the show's host, Rob Schilling, that I am not an expert on transportation policy and that I do not pretend to be such. But I'm willing to make my case that, as an individual, it is less expensive for me to travel to Washington by driving my own car than it is to purchase a round-trip ticket on Amtrak, the heavily-subsidized, federally-owned and -operated passenger rail company.

I may point out how British railroads improved markedly after Tony Blair's Labour government privatized them in the 1990s.

The show invites callers to ask questions and express their own points of view. I hope readers will take the opportunity to do that. Let Rob know you heard about the show on this blog, too!

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Charlottesville's Choo-Choo Flim-Flam

Charlottesville is agog with the news that a new passenger train rides through town on its way to Washington and New York. Rachana Dixit has the story in the Daily Progress:

A new, daily Amtrak train that will stop in Charlottesville before going to Washington and the Northeast received much fanfare on Wednesday as it rolled into the city’s West Main Street station.

“We’re really pushing rail and public transportation because it’s the wave of the future,” Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said during the train’s whistle-stop tour.

The new train was due to arrive at the station at 2:15 p.m., and it pulled in at roughly 2:24 p.m.

Beginning in Lynchburg, the train officially starts its service today and will add 14 more trips per week in Charlottesville. It came to Charlottesville on Wednesday from Culpeper and then headed to Lynchburg after Kaine — who received a rail hat that said “Chief Engineer,” a train whistle and bandana — hopped on.

Some area residents have advocated for more passenger rail service along the U.S. 29 corridor, most notably Meredith Richards, a former councilor and the chairwoman of CvilleRail and the Piedmont Rail Coalition.

The new train, which makes no economic sense (I'll get to that momentarily), is subsidized by Virginia taxpayers to the tune of at least $10.9 million over the next three years (Daily Progress figure) or perhaps $17 million (WSET).

The estimated number of new passenger trips per year ranges from 50,000 to 59,000, which means that each trip is underwritten by taxpayers for between $96 to $113 (using the higher subsidy amount).

The aim of the new service is to entice people away from driving to Washington on Route 29. For an individual, however, it is cheaper to travel by car than by train, even with the subsidy.

I calculate that it costs me, driving my 1999 Saturn, about $20.00 in gasoline (and I'm being generous: that's assuming gas is $2.50 per gallon, when it actually is less than that along the Route 29 corridor, at least until you reach the Beltway). It costs me between $1.00 and $8.00 to park in Ballston. Even if I park in the nearest commercial parking garage near my downtown DC office, the maximum charge for 24 hours is $22.00.

That means that the most I would pay to drive myself to downtown DC is $42.00, roundtrip, including parking. Since I nearly always park in Ballston, however, it is more realistic to calculate my cost to be $28.00 (if I spend all day in DC).

According to the Amtrak web site, the one-way fare on the new train is $29. Roundtrip fare is $58.

That means I save between $16 and $30 by driving myself.

If I were to travel with a friend or colleague and split the costs, we together save between $32 and $60.

For every person traveling together on that Charlottesville-DC trip, choosing Amtrak increases the cost by 100 percent while choosing a private automobile reduces it by 50 percent (up to the point every passenger seat in the car is filled).

I enjoy riding on a train as much as anyone. It is my preferred mode of transportation between Washington and New York. (There's no way you'll find me driving on the streets of Manhattan.) I once even took the Acela from New York to DC. Someone else was paying for it, of course.

Enjoying railroad travel should not, however, blind us to the fact that passenger rail, because it is not economically viable in an open market -- that is, in the absence of government subsidies -- exists only because of a transfer of wealth from the poor (who, by and large, do not travel by train) and the rich (who like to travel by train because it is the chic thing to do, and they can pretend to be environmentally conscious while doing it).

Looking at the numbers, however, why would any rational person choose to take the train rather than drive between Charlottesville and DC? Besides saving money, you would have more flexibility in terms of choosing when to depart and arrive, and if you have a change of plans -- or if your DC-area business is in Tyson's Corner rather than Capitol Hill -- you are better able to adapt to your travel needs and desires. What's more, if I drive myself, I can talk on the phone or listen to NPR without worrying about bothering other passengers.

This is a bad deal. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been bamboozled. (To be fair, people with large disposable incomes and who care little about their travel budgets might rationally choose the Amtrak option. The rest of us would not.)

And watch out: They're going to foist this boondoggle on Richmond and Roanoke, too. (No word about Elm Grove.)






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Porn for a Cause

Each week I look forward (pardon the pun) to an email from The Jewish Daily Forward, with a list of its most recent articles. I can always depend on The Forward for quirky, unexpected news and cultural commentary that simply can't be found anywhere else.

For instance...

This week there was a story on Russian-Jewish emigre Michael Lucas, who spent his childhood under Soviet Communism and who now lives an entrepreneurial American success story. Simply put, he's an adult movie producer -- in fact, he's an award-winning gay porn producer.

The article, headlined "Pornographic Stimulus Plan," by Michael Kaminer, highlights the latest offering by Lucas Entertainment, a video entitled Men of Israel.

Kaminer says that it is claimed that the film is "the first gay adult film made in Israel with an all-Israeli cast." (That cast includes Avi Dar, Matan Shalev, Jonathan Agassi, Guy Ronen, Morr-Foxx, Naor Tal, and Ninrod Gonen.)

What's more, the Forward article continues,

Lucas claims that his motivation behind “Men of Israel” was not just titillation, but also a counterbalance to lopsided portrayals of Israel in mainstream media. “It’s free PR for Israel, and it’s much better than the PR they’re getting on the news,” he said during a tour of the company’s expansive second-floor offices, with views of the New York Times building across the street. “The reality is that Israel has only one face to people on the street, and that’s the West Bank and Gaza. All people see in the media is a country of disaster. They get images of a blown-up bus.”

By contrast, Lucas said, the images in “Men of Israel” — filmed in telegenic Tel Aviv, Haifa and desert locations by Israeli fashion photographer Ronen Akerman — amount to a pornographic stimulus campaign for gay tourism.

“Nobody goes to Israel for Golda Meir, I’m so sorry,” Lucas said in heavily Russian-accented English. “People don’t care that you have a great orchestra, and they’re not particularly interested in the Holocaust museum. Gay people, and straight people, want beautiful beaches, beautiful nature, beautiful men and women, good food, good hotels. Israel shouldn’t be mistaken about why people go there. They need me.

Will Men of Israel do for Israeli tourism what The Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand, or what Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's new novel, The Lost Symbol, is expected to do to bring more tourists to Washington, D.C.? Michael Lucas seems confident that it will; Kaminer reports that Lucas recently became an Israeli citizen.

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Ferry Godmothers

On page 40 of the 1994 book, Virginia Trivia, by Ernie & Jill Couch, we find this Q&A:

Q: What is the last pole-powered ferry in Virginia?
A: Hatton Ferry, on the James River.

What was true in 1994 is still true in 2009.

As a matter of fact, I wrote about the Hatton Ferry just a few weeks ago, when it was announced by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) that it would stop using taxpayer dollars to subsidize the ferry's operations.

The title of my blogpost that day explains my viewpoint:

VDOT Should Not Be Running Quaint Tourist Attractions

As if to justify my denotation of the Hatton Ferry as a "quaint tourist attraction," it seems that travel writers are in agreement. The ferry is suggested as an off-the-beaten-path thing to see in Lonely Planet Virginia & the Capital Region, Moon Virginia: Including Washington, D.C., Gourmet Getaways: 50 Top Spots to Cook and Learn, Journey on the James: Three Weeks Through the Heart of Virginia, Whitewater!: The Thrill and Skill of Running the World's Great Rivers, The Unofficial Guide to the Mid-Atlantic with Kids, Fodor's Virginia and Maryland, Escape Plans: Quick Getaways Within Easy Reach of Washington, Frommer's Virginia, and The James River Guide, as well as the aforementioned Virginia Trivia.

When I wrote about the Hatton Ferry in May, I noted that members of the local Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society were mourning its demise and engaging in special-pleading, asking VDOT to reverse its decision. I argued:

If the Hatton Ferry really has value, then the historical society will be able to arrange to buy it and run it privately. It should not be the responsibility of the government, and thus a burden to taxpayers.

Well, it seems my advice has been followed. Brandon Shulleeta reports in today's Daily Progress:

Local community leaders have been hitting the pavement to raise money to keep the Hatton Ferry running, and they already have enough to operate the ferry this year.

“We’re pleased with both the size and the number of contributions,” said E Marshall Pryor III, director of Old Dominion National Bank in Scottsville.

Pryor, who is heading the fundraising effort, said that there have been more than 75 donors and that enough money has also been collected to pay for about 20 percent to 25 percent of the projected cost to operate the ferry in 2010.

The ferry's operation will be returned to the private sector, where it has always belonged:

[Albemarle Supervisor Lindsay] Dorrier, who estimates that it will cost about $21,000 per year to operate the ferry, said the long-term goal is to hand over financial responsibilities to a nonprofit organization. Pryor said some groups are entertaining the idea of taking over the Hatton Ferry.

Let me parse that a bit: "some groups" are interested in taking over the ferry.

That means that, not only is government support and subsidy not necessary to keep the ferry running, there is competition among private organizations to lay claim to it.

Good old private enterprise. Good old private philanthropy. Good old community initiative. It's the American way.

The Daily Progress even points to the way that readers can help keep the Hatton Ferry in motion:

Anyone wishing to contribute may send a tax-deductible donation to the Hatton Ferry Fund, c/o Old Dominion National Bank, P.O. Box 321, Scottsville, VA 24590.

It looks like VDOT won't have to continue running a quaint tourist attraction, after all. Let's hope the Hatton Ferry's poles stay in private hands from this point forward.

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The Titanic's Enduring Legacy

When Millvina Dean died on May 31, the final chapter of one of the iconic events of the early 20th century was closed.

Miss Dean, 97 years old, was the last survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. She was an infant aboard the White Star liner, traveling with her parents and brother, who hoped to settle in Wichita, Kansas, to create a new future for themselves. That plan never materialized, as her father was killed and her mother decided to return to England.

Twelve years ago, keyed to the 85th anniversary of the Titanic disaster, I wrote a review of a book called Titanic Legacy: Disaster as Media Event and Myth, by Paul Heyer. It appeared in The Metro Herald in April 1997. (Note that this was published before the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed.)

The Titanic's Enduring Legacy
Richard Sincere
Exclusive to The Metro Herald

This week marks the 85th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Last Sunday, cable's Discovery Channel debuted a documentary about the event, putting forth the theory that the famous ship had not been slit open by an iceberg, but rather buckled upon collision, creating small holes placed evenly along the hull that allowed water to flow into the ship. Two days earlier on MSNBC, Time & Again dug into NBC News archives to commemorate the anniversary with a 30-minute look at previous reports on various Titanic remembrances and efforts to find her wreckage.

The Discovery Channel's report, which focuses on how extremely cold water weakened the Titanic's "impenetrable" hull, reminds us of how cold air was a factor in the 1986 Challenger disaster, another gripping tragedy. Remarkably, the Challenger explosion parallels -- in sometimes eerie detail -- the sinking of the Titanic.

What are some parallels? Both voyages were preceded by enormous public attention, the Titanic because it was the world's largest cruise ship, embarking on its maiden voyage, while the space shuttle Challenger would carry the first average citizen into space, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Both ships sank into the North Atlantic. Both accidents involved ice -- the Titanic sideswiping an iceberg, the Challenger breaking up because ice weakened its "O"-rings. Both disasters were quickly followed by official -- and controversial -- government inquiries, which were in turn followed by legislation and regulations meant to address the cause of the tragedy. And, since the Titanic went down, no passenger's life has been lost at sea due to icebergs; since the Challenger, no lives have been lost in space travel.

Both disasters had something else in common: both caught the imagination of the American people (and people across the globe) in an unprecedented fashion.

In the case of the Titanic, however, there was a new element -- the emerging technology of radio communications. Radio imparted news of the disaster much faster than any previous, similar event. (When the liner Pacific vanished without a trace in 1856, it was many months before a message in a bottle landed in Scotland, declaring that the ship had gone down in an icefield. By that time, of course, no rescue or salvage was possible.)

Paul Heyer, professor of communications at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, demonstrates, in a new book-length examination of media treatments of the Titanic disaster, that "everything old is new again" (Titanic Legacy: Disaster as Media Event and Myth, by Paul Heyer. Praeger Publishers, 200 pages, $39.95). Many of the news media's practices that are currently under attack -- for instance, paying witnesses for exclusive first-hand accounts of events -- were similarly criticized in the aftermath of the Titanic's sinking. Sensationalism, luridness, manufactured stories designed to sell newspapers -- these were worries in 1912 as much as in 1997. Who needs A Current Affair or Jenny Jones when you have the New York World and the New York Herald?

In Titanic Legacy, Heyer traces how the New York Times, in particular, emerged from the pack of more than a dozen New York dailies, and how its coverage of the Titanic sparked its ascendancy as the country's premiere newspaper. He goes on to look at how both news and entertainment media treated the disaster in subsequent decades, with special emphasis on the 1953 film Titanic (starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck) and the 1958 British docudrama based on Walter Lord's non-fiction book, A Night to Remember. He also traces more obscure works, such as Thomas Hardy's poem "The Convergence of the Twain," which he composed for a fundraising event for Titanic survivors, and blues singer Leadbelly's ballad, "De Titanic." He pays particular attention to "Titanic Toast," described as part of the African-American oral tradition and performed in the 1910s and ‘20s much as a rap number is today.

Several dynamic characters emerge from the story. Time has faded our memories, and most of us have forgotten that Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless communications, was scheduled to be a passenger on the Titanic, but pressing business in New York forced him to depart Britain several days earlier. Few people remember, too, that the ultimate owner of the Titanic was tycoon J.P. Morgan, whose international shipping trust included White Star Lines. In addition, several famous people went down with the ship, including millionaire John Jacob Astor and Isidor and Ida Straus (owners of Macy's), who insisted on remaining together, hand-in-hand, as the Titanic descended into its watery grave.

In many ways, the story of the Titanic is as much a story of modern communications as it is about shipbuilding or sailing or weather conditions. The U.S. Senate investigation into the disaster led shortly thereafter to the first comprehensive regulation of (what later became known as) broadcasting. Marconi's corporate policies came under particular attack for being monopolistic. Heyer seems to accept this charge at face value, although he acknowledges that Marconi's company had several competitors both in Europe and America. Heyer is also insistent that regulation of the wireless industry was necessary and proper, though he fails to back up these assertions with hard evidence.

Titanic Legacy is a fascinating book. Professor Heyer is sure to find a ready audience for his book among the many amateur Titanic historians. For anyone interested in the history of the news and entertainment media, however, Titanic Legacy is recommended reading.

As a side note, I also highly recommend another book on the Titanic, which I have not had the pleasure of reviewing: The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions by Stephen D. Cox, who is now editor of Liberty magazine.

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VDOT Should Not Be Running Quaint Tourist Attractions

The Virginia Department of Transportation has announced budget cuts that will result in the closing of several highway rest stops and a reduction in force of as many as 750 workers. VDOT has also announced that it will close the Hatton Ferry on the James River near Scottsville.

While the loss of jobs -- especially productive ones -- is unfortunate, the closing of the rest stops (which are mostly in Northern Virginia, with an abundance of gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants close by the interstates) and the Hatton Ferry are sensible decisions that are long overdue.

I want to focus on the Hatton Ferry, which is nothing more than a quaint tourist attraction. The government has no business running quaint tourist attractions. That is something best left to the private sector.

The Hatton Ferry, in fact, was once run privately. The government socialized it in the last century. The Daily Progress explains:

VDOT bought the ferry in the 1980s and pays a contractor to ferry cars across the river on weekends from mid-April through mid-October.

By stopping the ferry service, VDOT would save an estimated $21,000 per year. The cut would go into effect July 1.

The Hatton Ferry is a historic relic of a bygone era, said Margaret O’Bryant, librarian of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. “I’m very sorry to hear about this,” she said.

O’Bryant pointed out that the Hatton Ferry is one of only two pole-driven ferries still in operation in the United States.

Ferries played an important role along the James River, going back to the days of the European settlers, she said. The Hatton Ferry, O’Bryant added, has a long and fascinating history of its own.

In 1972, the ferry was destroyed by Hurricane Agnes, but a new one was built by the Department of Highways and dedicated in September 1973 with the help of Richard Thomas, star of TV’s “The Waltons.”

The newly built ferry was sunk and destroyed again in 1985 when the James River flooded. The following year, VDOT launched a sturdier metal ferry.

The historical society has championed the Hatton Ferry for decades. The organization has built a kiosk on the site and renovated the operator’s building so it appears as it did in the late 1800s.

“It comes as a big shock and a big disappointment,” said Steven Meeks, president of the historical society.

If the Hatton Ferry really has value, then the historical society will be able to arrange to buy it and run it privately. It should not be the responsibility of the government, and thus a burden to taxpayers.

As Governor Tim Kaine is fond of saying, "If you can find it in the Yellow Pages, maybe government shouldn't be doing it." I agree.

"Relics of a bygone era" surely meet that test, and the government lacks the moral and political authority to own them or operate them. VDOT deserves credit for making the right decision.

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Bet You Can't Eat Just One

For those who find themselves glued to the TV when it is tuned to the Food Network, or for those gourmand tourists who travel to culinary destinations, have I got news for you!

The 28th annual Oakdale Testicle Festival will take place next Monday in Stanislaus County, California, near Modesto.

You read it right. According to the Modesto Bee:

For years, the fete was called the Calf Fry as the largest fundraiser for the town's Rotary Club. But then the group joined forces with the Cowboy Museum and the more direct, more catchy Testicle Festival was launched in 2003. Since then, the festival has gone from fewer than 200 guests to more than 450 a year.

The evening is less a strolling, browsing around festival and more of a sit-down, chow-down dinner. Some 400 pounds of the unique dining experience are fried up in a secret recipe and served to guests for $50 a ticket ($65 if you wait and get it at the door).

The event fills Oakdale's largest hall, the FES Hall. Last year, it raised $28,000.

Bull testicles are also known by the (more?) colorful name, prairie oysters. They are considered a delicacy by some. The Bee's Marijke Rowland asked Christie Camarillo, executive director of the Oakdale Cowboy Museum, how they taste. Camarillo's reply:

"They kind of taste like chicken. I say it's between fried calamari and chicken liver," she said. "I've had them fixed all different ways, but you can't beat how the Rotarians do it."

What unusual fleshy food does not taste like chicken? And just how do the Rotarians do it?

However they do it, the Modesto Bee notes,

The organizers promise that you'll "Have a ball!"

If you're in the neighborhood of Oakdale (is this the town on the long-running daytime drama, As the World Turns? Has ATWT ever featured a testicle festival?), check out the festival and then come back here to leave your own impressions in the comments section (below). No bull.






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Looking for Volunteer Opportunities Abroad?

With the return of Camelot to the White House, we will no doubt see renewed emphasis on voluntary service opportunities for young people in the Peace Corps and other organizations. (This is not limited to youth, of course -- remember how Lillian Carter joined the Peace Corps in post-retirement age.)

CBS News is reporting an opening for Americans looking to volunteer overseas, in this case the United Kingdom:

Britain is facing a sperm donor shortage after reversing confidentiality laws and limiting the number of women who can use sperm from one donor, fertility experts warned Wednesday.

Britain in 2005 changed the law protecting anonymous sperm donors and allowed children to learn the identity of donor fathers - one reason, fertility experts say, there are fewer donors now.

"The only countries that seem to have enough sperm are those that pay - like the U.S. and Spain - or the countries that retain anonymity," said Allan Pacey, a member of the British Fertility Society that warned of the shortage in the British Medical Journal.

"In the countries that have removed anonymity ... there seems to be a problem," he said.

In 1991, Britain logged 503 sperm donors, according to figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. In 2000, there were 325, and in 2006 - the year after the law was changed - the number dropped to 307.

Experts say 500 donors a year are needed to cope with the number of couples needing donor insemination in Britain.

Check with a nearby British consulate to explore how best you can help fix this dire situation.

NYT Recommends Charlottesville

Joshua Kurlantzick, whose byline is usually attached to articles about foreign policy in The New Republic and other opinion journals, has written a travel article for the New York Times, suggesting that readers might enjoy "36 Hours in Charlottesville, Va."

Beginning, as might be expected, with a reference to Thomas Jefferson and the architecture he designed or inspired at Monticello and on the grounds of the University of Virginia, Kurlantzick goes on to note:

But the town itself is far more cutting-edge than its architecture. As American regional cuisine has gone upscale over the past decade, Charlottesville has been at the center of many changes, with local chefs updating traditional Southern fare by marrying grits, fried chicken and other standbys with French, Asian and other influences. The town's music scene, too, has served up megastars like the Dave Matthews Band and helped to launch the modern roots-rock wave. Even Virginia wine, once more Burger King than Bordeaux, has caught on. Local vineyards that never used to get invitations to competitions now hold their own with the finest of California or France. Even Jefferson would be proud — the third president succeeded at nearly everything, but he couldn't coax a decent wine out of Virginia's soil.

The NYT web site also includes a colorful slideshow of scenes in the Charlottesville area, with views of the downtown mall, Monticello, various restaurants and shops, the Barboursville ruins, and Ash Lawn-Highland.

What Tourists Ask in England

On my other blog ("Where Are the Copy Editors?"), I have a new post on embarrassing misspellings in an article in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

It was the substance of the article, however, that first drew me to it.

Apparently tourists -- not all of them American -- are asking what the Telegraph politely calls "embarrassing" questions of docents at various English Heritage sites (the stately homes of England, as it were). A British tourism organization has revealed the ten most embarrassing questions posed by visitors to these castles, manors, and estates.

The Telegraph's Andy Bloxham explains:

The series of questions were released to mark the start of an English Heritage campaign to encourage shy tourists to ask guides if they have a query about the building they have come to see.

The organisation's hope is that more questions will mean that the buildings make more of an impression, which will encourage the visitors to tell others of what they have experienced and could boost visitor numbers.

It seems to me that by publicizing what are often -- not to be as polite as English Heritage -- stupid questions, the organization might actually stifle inquiries by tourists who are now afraid of embarrassing themselves.

While the questions English Heritage has compiled are not exactly fodder for David Letterman's Top Ten List, a number of them are amusing in a "boy-i'm-glad-that-wasn't-me" sort of way.

Here are English Heritage's top ten, in no apparent order (and including the misspellings):

"Is this where Sharon and Ozzie actually live?" - a visitor to Osborne House, Isle of Wight

"What time do you switch the mist off?" – a visitor to Dover Castle and the Secret Wartime Tunnels, in Kent

"Where are the monkeys?" – a group of children at Cleeve Abbey in Somerset

"Why did they build so many ruined castles and abbeys in England?" - a tourist at Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire

"Is it a bouncy castle?" - a little girl at Clifford's Tower, York

"Can you tell me where I can see the Hobbits?" - a visitor to Kenwood House, Hampstead

"Did they all have the same dad?" – a visitor to Osborne House, Isle of White, who learned of Queen Victoria's nine children

"How many bricks are there?" - a visitor to Witley Court and Gardens, Worcestershire

"Does my ferret need to be on a lead in this area?" - a visitor to Kenwood House, Hampstead

"How long does life membership last?" - a visitor to Osborne House, Isle of White

"Did Lady Rachel ever de-bone her fish before eating it?" - a visitor to Witley Court and Gardens, Worcestershire

"Are the tunnels underground?" - a visitor to Dover Castle and Secret Wartime Tunnels, Kent

"Is that a manmade jetty?" - a visitor to Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland, pointing at a 300 million-year-old rock formation

"Is this Dracula's Castle?" - a visitor to Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire.

Embarrassing or not, English Heritage also has a list of Frequently Asked Questions on its own web site.

I do have to admit that asking whether all of Queen Victoria's children had the "same dad" is not as silly as it sounds. As Art Linkletter might remark, "Kids say the darnedest things."

Silent Flows the Don?

From Novosti, the Russian News and Information Agency:

A statue is to be unveiled to an enema at a health center in the southern Russia's town of Zheleznovodsk, the center director said on Monday.

The 1.5 meter-high bronze monument, weighing 350 kilograms (771.6 pounds), portrays "three angel-like children carrying above their heads a big pear-like enema," the Alexander Kharchenko said.

"This will be the first monument to an enema in the world," he said, adding that the initiative to erect the monument was proposed by the center's administration, where hundreds of similar procedures are carried out every day.

"It is high time a monument to an enema was erected," he said.

Considering all the odd things along America's highways and byways, it's rather surprising that the Russians erected the first enema monument.

At least we beat them to the moon.

Addenda to the 'Getting High' Series

Back in February, I posted four videos I called the "Getting High" series. Two of the videos were from Wisconsin (the top of the state capitol, the peak of Rib Mountain), one was from Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Copper Peak ski flying hill), and the last was from Los Angeles (the Getty museum complex).

I have two more additions to the "Getting High" series.

The first is archival footage I found in some old home movies taken by my grandfather, Chester J. Michalak, in the early 1960s. This film was made while flying over the resort community of Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, with its extensive chain of lakes. My best guess is that this dates from August 1960, but it could be a year or two older or younger.

The second is more recent. In March 2007, Richard Morrison and I made a trip to Las Vegas, and we visited the Hoover Dam, which rises from the depths of Black Canyon, impeding the Colorado River and creating Lake Mead. Some of the video is taken from inside the bowels of the dam, where the electrical generators are located, and some of it is from the edge of the canyon and from the top of the roadway that traverses the dam itself.

Getting High in Wisconsin, Part III:



Getting High in Nevada, Part I:



Getting High in Nevada, Part II:

The videos from Nevada were taken just a few days after I purchased my digital video camera, so I was not as adept as I could have been in shooting the scenery. I have learned a lot since then, so I apologize for the intermittent shakiness and quick, unsteady zooms.

Travelers' Carnival

Another blog carnival -- this one the "Carnival of Cities" -- picked up one of my personal favorite recent posts to feature this week: my videoblog showcasing Hurley, Wisconsin, and Ironwood, Michigan. (That post included a peek at the Iron County Historical Museum and a conversation with innkeeper Gene Cisewski, as well as a visit to the Upper Peninsula's Hiawatha statue.)

The Carnival of Cities covers the whole world, in categories like "Cities in Europe," "Cities in Australasia," and "Cities in the Americas." It turns out that Hurley is one of two U.S. cities featured in the current carnival. Under the heading of "Cities in the Americas," host-blog Family Travel lists the following:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada paulmct presents Tickets Please - Or Else posted at Bloggin’ Off, saying, “There’s a lot to like about Vancouver, but…” Don’t tase me, bro!

Trinidad, Cuba Matthew Hamilton describes this dilapidated colonial jewel near Cuba’s Caribbean coast, posted at his blog Furgo Y Agua - Travels In Latin America.

Hurley, Wisconsin, USA Rick Sincere gives an interesting peek into Hurley’s history and includes video from his visit to Hurley on his blog Rick Sincere News and Thoughts, saying, “Hurley, Wisconsin, is a small city (population less than 2,000) but it and its 'twin city' of Ironwood, Michigan, are nonetheless legally designated as cities.”

St. Louis, Missouri, USA As the host, I thought I’d throw in a Family Travel blog post featuring the storied Gateway Arch, on the Mississippi river in downtown St. Louis.

Next week's Carnival of Cities will be hosted at Roaming Tales on April 30, followed by the Jeffersoniad's Leslie Carbone on May 7.

A Visit to Hurley and Ironwood

Last July, during a cross-country trip that took me to Milwaukee and Los Angeles and points in-between, I made a long detour to Northern Wisconsin, where I visited mon ami ancien Gene Cisewski, who now runs a bed-and-breakfast inn in the small town of Hurley, near the Michigan border.

While Hurley now has a population of just about 1,200 residents, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a boom town. Hurley grew up as a market center for the iron mining industry that stretched across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Novelist Edna Ferber, who had previously portrayed the American South of the same period in Show Boat (the basis for the musical play of the same name), spent time in Hurley doing research for a book that became Come and Get It (which itself became a movie and won Walter Brennan an Academy Award).

The Hurley that Ferber knew was a town of saloons and bordellos. One of Hurley's great mysteries continues to be "who killed Lotta Morgan?" (Morgan was a lady of easy virtue, and therefore one of the town's leading citizens, when she was murdered.) Al Capone's brother, Ralph, settled in Hurley, which was a popular summer destination for Chicago-based mobsters (as was Manitowish Waters, about 20 miles to the south, where John Dillinger had a shoot-out with the FBI).

The town is much quieter today, but it still is said to have the most bars per capita of any municipality in Wisconsin, and Silver Street, the main drag, seems to offer proof of that claim.

Innkeeper Cisewski is also a former member of the Iron County Board of Supervisors and now serves as president of the Iron County Historical Society. During our visit, Gene hosted an event at the Iron County Historical Museum, which is just about a block from his own historic home, the Anton-Walsh House on Copper Street. I captured some of the event, and a good number of the museum's exhibits, on video:

Someday I might also post the still-unedited video of that night's speaker, a writer who specializes in the history of Italian immigrants to the United States. (Italian-Americans make up an astounding 19 percent of Iron County's population.)

After the lecture and the reception that followed, I interviewed Gene about his house and the bed-and-breakfast business located there. The Anton-Walsh House was one of the first merchant-class homes in Hurley, and Gene ticks off the names of all the owners from the one who built it to the present. He also describes, in excruciatingly delicious detail, the foods he prepares and serves to his guests for breakfast every morning. (I can attest to the tastiness of the wild-rice and cranberry pudding, the various kinds of muffins, and the homemade jams and jellies -- some of which come from grapes grown in the Anton-Walsh House backyard.) Here's a chat with Gene Cisewski:

Nearby Hurley is its "twin city" of Ironwood, just across the Montreal River and the Michigan border. Ironwood has about twice as many residents as Hurley, but it seems to be far less robust, economically speaking. One can tell that it, too, was once a boom town, but today it has a faded, rundown look.

One thing that Ironwood has that nobody else can claim is a 52-foot, 8-ton, Fiberglas statue of Hiawatha, said to be the world's "tallest and largest Indian." (There is a statue of an Indian in Maine that is about ten feet taller, but it's not nearly as large or heavy.) The statue was erected in 1964 and refurbished in 2004.

According to the Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce,

A giant statue of an Indian chief was felt appropriate as a symbol of the region, although ideas for a sculpture ranged from an iron miner, skier and Ironwoods Red Devil. The Indianhead signs had been a feature of the Gogebic County Highways for many years and had attracted widespread attention. Several larcenous tourists even carted off some of the Indian signs. It was unlikely anyone would be able to carry away the 50 foot Hiawatha.

That's an understatement!

The chamber's web site describes how the statue arrived in Ironwood, and the Erection Ceremony that followed:

Hiawatha was transported on a 70-foot trailer truck on a special route that would reduce the number of sharp curves and low bridges and any other obstacles in transit. The trailer was over 14 feet wide and required a special permit to transport it with a state police escort through each state. Hiawatha traveled on Highway 94, 63 and 77 to Hurley, then north on Highway 51 to US2. Delivery of Hiawatha was set to leave Minneapolis at 2:20 AM Thursday, June 25th and arrived in Ironwood late Thursday evening, a haul of nearly 12 to 14 hours...

Erection of the statue was set for Friday between 3:00 and 4:30 PM. Originally the plans had called for placing the statue on the foundation on Saturday, but due to the need of the large 80-foot crane by the Mauthe Mining Company, it had been advanced to Friday afternoon. The crane needed to extend 90 feet for lifting of the statue to go above the 26-foot beams on the site...

Shortly after Hiawatha arrived, workmen began attaching Hiawatha's right hand. The right arm was made in a slightly extended position and in order to avoid damage while traveling, the wrist and hand were detached when the statue arrived. The Hiawatha statue rested on a base that was eight feet deep and contained 55 yards of concrete and had 5,000 pounds of steel reinforcement mixed in with 15 yards of crushed rock.

There were cheers and hand-clapping from the large crowd of men, women and children that had gathered in the hot sun to see the huge image erected. Many curiously waited the full two hours to see what it would look like once it was firmly secured to its foundation. The raising of the statue was the highlight not only to the crowd, but also fulfilled the dreams of a group of businessmen, known as the Hiawatha Committee, who spent many months planning for the tourist attraction.

(I just know I'm going to start getting strange visits to this blog based on search terms like "men women children huge erection" and "hand-clapping erection ceremony.")

I first visited the Hiawatha statue nearly 41 years ago with my parents. In the video below, you'll see one photo of my mother and me (and two other, unknown children) from August 3, 1967; the rest were all taken on the evening of July 25, 2007:

In the 44 years since it was installed, the Hiawatha statue has become a gathering place for local skateboarders. (My video is not the only one on YouTube that demonstrates this fact.)

The Anton-Walsh House is located at 202 Copper Street, Hurley, Wisconsin 54534-1339; for more information, call 715-561-2065 or send an email to info@anton-walsh.com.

The Iron County Historical Society Museum is in the old county courthouse -- the one with the clock tower that chimes the hours -- at 303 Iron Street, Hurley, Wisconsin 54534. For more information, call 715-561-2244.

The statue of Hiawatha is on Suffolk Street in Ironwood, Michigan. The best directions can be found at RoadsideAmerica.com.

I previously posted video of another attraction close to Hurley, the Copper Peak Ski Flying Hill, under the title, "The 'Getting High' Series" -- which may soon have some addenda.