MAGINOT FORTS – COUNTERWEIGHTS TO DARK MAGIC OF THE EAST

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Machine gun turret - in eclipsed position - atop Block 2 at Gros Ouvrage Schoenenbourg.
Machine gun turret – in eclipsed position – atop Block 2 at Gros Ouvrage Schoenenbourg of the Maginot Line.

As the Cold War ended, a resurgence in interest took place in France as many of the former fortifications the country spent so much time, money, and hope in keeping war away from the home door.  The jury of historical writers seem a bit divided in opinions regarding whether the fortifications built between the late 1920 and 1930’s accomplished much.  Forts have had a history of being very expensive and difficult to upgrade, keeping them current with the rapid advances in artillery.

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HOUSE OF SAVOY LEADS ITALY INTO THE NEW

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The magnificent Savoyard fortress complex at Fennestrelle erected soon after the House of Savoy joined the ranks of kings in 1713.

World War One – La Grande Guerra in Italian – destroyed four of the great ruling houses of Europe.  The House of Savoy was not one of them.  That would take another war.  The House of Savoy is one of the older families of Europe making it into the rarefied heights of ascendant nobility.  Like most of these families, the family history is complicated by time and politics.  That history becomes confused further by looking at maps of the feudal lands over the years as they waxed and waned with time.  Little bits of color interspersed with each other, seemingly with no rhyme or reason at times.  So much of history tied up in abstruse, rarefied, esoteric stories understood by only a few of the most dedicated students.

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REDIPUGLIA, FASCIST TWIST TO THE GREAT WAR

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The Redipuglia Ossuary climbing the slopes of the Carso above the Via Eroica.
The Redipuglia Ossuary climbing the slopes of the Carso above the Via Eroica.

Italy remembers World War One – la Grande Guerra – a bit differently than World War Two.  First off, they were on the winning side in the first war.  Second, a little over a hundred thousand more Italians died during the First than the Second – 651,000 to 689,000 compared to approximately 500,000.  The vast cost of the First War in treasure and men along with THE thought by Italians as unfair results of their sacrifices at the treaty tables at the war’s end ended destabilizing the nation.  Enter the Blackshirts and Benito Mussolini.

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MAGICAL LITTLE PIGS OF THE FOREST – PORCINI

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A trio of porcini – Boletus edulis – pulled from the forest duff.

Another season has come and gone now. My supply was drawing thin from the last few seasons of little luck. But early fall rains drenched the forest floors encouraging a small flush of porcini – Boletus edulis – to crawl forth from the timbered duff. Out into the forests, I went, combining a quick visit to waterfalls with a myvological hunt. Six bags of dried little pigs later, my mushroom supply has replenished.

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AÍ CHIHUAHUA! – VISION RESTORATION IN THE LAND OF THE TACO BELL DOG

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LIS team and local Lions Club members celebrate the end of the vision clinic in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico.
LIS team and local Lions Club members celebrate the end of the vision clinic in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Mexico is a large and very diverse country.  Many travelers from the United States know the country for its beaches – Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Zihuantanejo, maybe Huatulco.  Some visitors may have only penetrated as far as border towns like Tijuana, Mexicali, Agua Prieto, Ciudad Juárez, Neuvo Laredo, Matamoros and others.  There is a lot more magic awaiting beyond, however, as well as welcoming peoples of a mélange of cultures and even languages.

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LONG-DISTANCE PATHS RECOUNT THE GREAT WAR HIGH IN THE ALPS

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Unknown Austro-Hungarian grave in one of the countless sinkholes - dolinas - of the Carso found along the Pot miru - Path of Peace.
Unknown Austro-Hungarian grave in one of the countless sinkholes – dolinas – of the Carso found along the Pot miru – Path of Peace – one of Europe’s long-distance paths.

Long-distance paths have acquired quite a following in the past few decades.  In the US you have ways like the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail standing as the Big Three.  There are plenty of other long-distance paths to spend days upon days on, as well, such as the Arizona Trail, the Green Mountain Trail, and on and on.  Of course, the American examples pale in number when compared to the Old World.

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SUPERGA DEMONSTRATES HOUSE OF SAVOY LOVE FOR TORINO

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Basilica atop Superga houses the Royal Tombs of the House of Savoy before Italian Reunification.

Three euros and one hundred thirty-one winding steps leads to the observation platform atop the base of the dome of La Basilica di Superga.  Only so many people are allowed to climb up at one time.  For the best of times, morning. Then, the sun illuminates the snow-clad peaks of the Alps to the west and north.  The city of Torino – Turin – sits far below resting on the banks of the Po River.  It is a magical scene, one allowing for reflection on the utter beauty, natural and urban.  The Basilica also represents the tie between an adopted city and the family that adopted it, the House of Savoy.

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MONTE SAN MICHELE ZONA MONUMENTAL – MEMORIES OF THE LONG YEAR

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Flagpole atop Monte San Michele remembers the Italian brigades who fought here as well as the Unknown Soldier in Rome whom was one of the Fallen from the battles here.
Flagpole atop Monte San Michele remembers the Italian brigades who fought here as well as the Unknown Soldier in Rome whom was one of the Fallen from the battles here.

Monte San Michele.  Welcome to one of the battlefields upon where so many Italians, as well as their opponents from Austria-Hungary, spilled blood during the 1915 to 1916. These campaigns fought in the harsh limestone hills just east off the Isonzo River.  The extreme efforts of that long year and three months remembered by King Vittorio Emanuele III’s proclamation in 1922 of the hill’s inclusion as a zona sacra, a place of special memory to the Italian nation.  At least three zone sacra in Italy relate to World War 1 – Pasubio and Monte Grappa are the other two.  There might be more but those along with Monte San Michele are the big three.

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TUNNELS UNDER THE PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY – STORIES FROM RIO HATO

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Flight simulator view south of the Pan-American highway tunnel under the Scarlett Martinez International Airport – formerly Rio Hato – runway.

Always new things to learn in Panama.  One is the airstrip which the Panamerican highway tunnels under about 1-2 hours west of Panama City.  I have been driven under the runway on six occasions and have never seen a plane nor really much in the way of any activity at all. Local Lions club members told me it was just an expensive affair on the government’s part to attract tourists to an underdeveloped area of the coast.  This is true regarding the last decade or so of the airstrip’s life but does not explain the rest of the history of the site.

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PANAMA LIONS TEAM 2023 – VISION RENEWAL IN THE ISTHMUS

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Photo-op sign on Flamenco Island off the Pacific entry for the Panama Canal. First Lions stop in Panama.

Lions in Sight is a subgroup formed by Lions and optometrists in the late 1990’s.  Originally (and still well represented), most of the volunteers and doctors for the group came from the San Francisco area.  The group expanded activities in the 21st century with a vision clinic a year to Mexico’s 8 Lion regions.  One to two other trips went afield to more distant clinics – Palestine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Armenia, Albania, etc.  Lion volunteers and doctors soon came from all over the US helping spread the motto of Lionism “We Serve”.

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