Twenty-five Jewel Boxes

 

In 1891, a New Orleans jury acquitted six Italian immigrants who’d been charged with murdering a local police chief. There were rumors the jury had been tampered with – either paid off or threatened – by the mafia. Within hours, armed vigilantes broke into the prison and dragged out the six men along with thirteen other incarcerated Italians. Nine were shot to death, and two were hanged. Most Americans at the time distrusted immigrants, especially Italians, and felt the mob violence was justified. But Italy (it was a kingdom back then) and Italian Americans were horrified. Diplomatic relations were broken off, and there was actually talk of war. President Harrison offered reparations to the survivors of some victims as an olive branch. He then urged congress to declare a national holiday to celebrate the 400th anniversary of an Italian explorer’s arrival in the New World. And that, boys and girls, is why we have Columbus Day.

Chickadee

 

Box cakes (regardless of what the package claims) tend to be dry and flavorless. This easy recipe fixes both problems.

 

Key Lime Poke Cake

 

1 box white cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup lime juice

Zest from 1 lime

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup powdered sugar

 

Prepare cake according to directions in 9x13” pan. Cool at least 5 minutes, then poke it all over almost to the bottom with a wooden spoon handle. Combine milk, cream and zest in a bowl; add lime juice and whisk together. Pour mixture evenly over cake. Cover and chill at least an hour, or overnight. Whip cream and vanilla together. As peaks start to form, gradually add sugar. Spread over cake and serve.

Two Dozen Jewel Boxes

 

If you watched television in the early 70’s, you’ve seen Iron Eyes Cody. He was the crying Indian in the “Keep America Beautiful” ad. The PSA won two Clio awards, started a flurry of community clean-up campaigns, and supposedly reduced litter by 88% across 38 states. It might surprise you to learn the ad was paid for by the American Can Company, Owens-Illinois Glass Company, the Dixie Cup Company, and Coca-Cola, hoping to shift blame for pollution away from industries and on to consumers. But the most surprising thing about the crying Indian ad was the Indian himself. "Iron Eyes Cody" appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows wearing beaded moccasins and buckskin, braids and feathers. Cody dressed as an Indian in his private life, too. At various times he claimed membership in several different Native American tribes. After his death, it was revealed his real name was Espera Oscar de Corti, born in Louisiana to Italian immigrant parents. 

Grandma's Favorite

 

Prairie dogs are amazing animals. As far as we can tell, they have the most complex language of any animal. Not only can they tell each other, “Look out! There’s a human coming!” but they can also say, “He’s really tall and wearing yellow!” They have a reputation of breeding like rabbits, but their mating season is only about an hour long. They have three to eight pups in a litter, half of whom probably won’t make it to adulthood. They look like furry marshmallows, but they’ll fiercely defend their homes with sharp teeth and claws. Prairie dog burrows always have at least two entrances: one on lower, flat ground, and one in a raised mound, like a volcano. Their design makes clever use of the Bernoulli principle to pull fresh air through their underground tunnels. Even more impressive, they were doing it thousands of years before Bernoulli came on the scene.

Twenty Jewel Boxes

 

When I was ten, our home was in Otego, New York, but I attended school in Oneonta. I’d ride there with Daddy in the morning, then walk to his office after school. I did homework while waiting for him to take me home. I “read” Emil und die Detektive and Der kleine Prinz by looking up each word in his German/English dictionary. Once, only once, I was allowed in the chemistry lab, to see how sugar crystals formed. Daddy caught me licking the glass stirring rod after I’d dissolved sugar in water in a beaker. He laughed, but said terrible things could happen to chemists who sipped their experiments. Not long after that, a researcher with Tate & Lyle did just that. He was told to “test” a chlorinated sugar compound, and he thought he heard the word “taste.” He did so, and found it to be extremely sweet. And that’s how Sucralose – Splenda – came into being. 

Boxes and Baskets

 

"We are willing to help each other because we love each other, and my brother's needs become my needs and mine become his. No matter what language my brother speaks or what country he comes from, we love each other because we are brothers, children of the same father.” – Elder Hugo Montoya

"When we fix our sight on Jesus Christ, we recognise and we understand that He is the only source and way to receive forgiveness and redemption, even unto eternal life and exaltation."  –  Tracy B. Browning. 

“No matter how capable, educated, brilliant or strong we are, we cannot cleanse ourselves from our sins, change our bodies to an immortal state, or exalt ourselves. It is only possible through the Savior Jesus Christ and His infinite atonement.” – Elder Paul V. Johnson 

Sixteen Jewel Boxes

 

I read Sterling North’s book Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era when I was nine or ten. I don’t recall being awfully impressed with it. I have a better memory of seeing the 1969 Disney Movie Rascal on Wonderful World of Disney when I was thirteen. The film had a terrific cast: John Fiedler (Pooh’s friend Piglet), Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein), and Billy Mumy (Lost in Space). I’m surprised this movie isn’t on Disney+. While searching for a way to stream Rascal, I found an article about a 1977 anime series loosely based on the same book. It’s called Araiguma Rasukaru (Rascal is HARD to pronounce). Araiguma, the Japanese word for raccoon, means “washing bear.” Like the name, the raccoon in the series is adorable. And though the book, the movie and the series show vividly why raccoons make terrible pets, Araiguma Rasukaru is the reason Japan is overrun with this invasive species.