Without Lifting A Finger

Noteworthy because it keeps coming back. Saw it at least twice. Will try to dig up Flaubert's original French. "Mystical voluptuousness."

Very hard to get close enough to shoot. Gun shy. In this case I caught him by surprise: she was munching on some corn. She gave me a few secs before she flipped her white tail and bounded off.

      

Morning to myself: Walking, reading, straightening out a few financial matters (O dread). After a somewhat restless night (that bed is becoming less and less my friend), I woke late (7-ish) and walked to Jefferson Rd. and back. One far-off deer, no pics (nothing inspired a snap). Reading-wise I've pitted Mommsen's Rome against Richard Miles' Carthage.

     Salammbo rose like her husband, with a cup in her hand, to drink also. She fell down again with her head lying over the back of the throne, -- pale, stiff, with parted lips, -- and her loosened hair hung to the ground.      Thus died Hamilcar's daughter for having touched the mantle of Tanith. 





Spier & Rohns was a noted Detroit , Michigan architectural firm operated by Frederick Spier and W. C. Rohns, best remembered for designs of churches and railroad stations . These were frequently executed in the Richardson Romanesque style. Notable commissions Michigan Central Railroad depot (since 1969 the Gandy Dancer Restaurant and Roadhouse Saloon) Ann Arbor , Michigan, 1886 [1] Michigan Central Railroad depot, (as of 2009 the Niles Amtrak Station ), Niles , Michigan, 1890 Kelsey Museum of Archaeology of the University of Michigan , built as the Newberry-Hall-Student Christian Association building, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1888 [2] Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church , Detroit, 1891 Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church , Detroit, 1892 University of Michigan - Tappan Hall, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1893 Detroit Chamber of Commerce Building , (currently named United Way Community Services Building , Detroit, 1895 (the tallest building in Detroit at the time of i...

            





At least two Flaubertian motifs twine throughout Salammbo: Beauty (anytime Salammbo crosses the stage) and human depravity/stupidity. Here is an excerpt re child sacrifice (imaginatively redrawn):      Night fell; clouds accumulated above the Baal. The funeral-pile, which was flameless now, formed a pyramid of coals up to his knees; completely red like a giant covered with blood, he looked, with his head thrown back, as though he were staggering beneath the weight of his intoxication.      In proportion as the priests made haste, the frenzy of the people increased; as the number of the victims was diminishing, some cried out to spare them, others that still more were needful. The walls, with their burden of people, seemed to be giving way beneath the howling of terror and mystic voluptuousness. Then the faithful came into the passages, dragging their children, who clung to them; and they beat them in order to make them let go, and handed them...

              





Too hot to climb. I surmounted it mentally. 



Good ride. The time flew. Dining car fare: Don't bother. Not much to see (a few deer, green and green, glimpses of the stations). A nice sunset but it was on the other side of the train. The only decent pic I got was of the Niles station. It should've had another sign hanging: Birthplace of Ring Lardner. *       

@ 5-ish I ducked into Union Station, got my big G card, and waited on the large lacquered wood benches. *                                                   

                                                              

Wells runs under the L and it has a slew of restaurants (many with ethnic stripes). Pierogi Heaven looked a little worn from the outside, was very simple on the inside (reminding me just a smidgen of a place I fell upon in Krakow years ago), but dispensing delicious dumplings with a variety of fillings. I had nine, 3 each of mushroom, mushroom/kraut, and potato/farmer cheese. I also had a small cup of borscht. * 

Had to charge my phone, so I sat in a Bucks (one on every other corner) for over an hour. Though most of the Polish restaurants I found online were unwalkable, I found a pierogi place with good reviews 0.25 miles away. Goal: Pierogi Heaven. Before and after PH, I'd take a few pics. Remember: I had till 6. *                           

Left Crystal Lake and returned to Chicago. Goal: Taking the Amtrak to Jackson, MI. The Metra was doubly cheap because it was the weekend, but I had to buy the ticket onboard. Once there I exited, entered Union Station from Madison (see pics below), and tried to purchase Amtrak tickets on the Wolverine (to Jackson) for 3:10. Sold out! So I had to buy tickets for the 6:00 pm train and hang around a bit. Not a problem. Chicago, like any big city, sucks up time. *