Thar’s gold in them thar hills – no really!
“A wagon from the Union Army supposedly lost a huge cache of gold bars while en route from Wheeling, West Virginia, to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1863,” the AP reports. “More than 150 years later, the FBI is overseeing a dig in a Pennsylvania state forest where the famous loot might be buried.”
Yee ha! It’s the stuff of tall tales – right?
Some couldn’t disagree more. Finders Keepers, a treasure hunting association who’s been dying to dig into this little legend for decades, is keeping mum on the details right along with the FBI. Specifics on the Dent’s Run dig – about 135 miles outside of Pittsburgh – are anything but forthcoming.
“I’m sorry, but as of right now all we’re allowed to say is ‘No Comment,'” a group member told the Washington Post as per Newser. “We’ll keep you in mind when/if anything changes.”
But the state of Pennsylvania, hallelujah, just gave permission after a decades-long push by Finders Keepers, and thus digging has commenced last week.
Could it be that the Union wagon train hauling the equivalent of $27-$55 million in 26/55 gold bars (each apparently weighing a whopping 50 lbs) is true?
Was the Civil War sergeant embellishing the details of a wagon-train ambush wherein he was the sole survivor? Was he blowing smoke at the expense of goggle-eyed gadflies eager for a war story with some added bells and whistles?
“The wagon train made it to St. Mary’s, PA and that was the last time it was seen,” or so says Finders Keepers. “The wagons and dead soldiers were found later but not the gold.”
Historians have long pooh-poohed the account, but Finders Keepers has located artifacts of a Union Soldier presence in the surrounding areas. Metal detectors have been detecting something of a metallic nature beneath the scenic soil, and now they’re going to find out.
Brass buttons? Forgotten pocket knives or belt buckles? Or pure, unadulterated gold bars worth far more than they were back in the 1800s?
Check out the following clip on other as-yet unfound treasures:
[jwplayer AwHr0rbv]
Time and talk blurs the truth and grows tiny tales into whoppers. But if this story is true and gold is really in them thar hills – or the woods in this case – we’ll know soon enough.
Stay tuned.
Finger painting sense-sation
Ah, childhood. Those bygone days of messy mayhem unrestrained by the realities of mortgages, marriages, and a 9-5 workday are truly missed. Getting one’s fingers dirty while creating the art that typically received high praise was fun, and so was seeing it pinned to the family refrigerator – until the inner critic and life’s commitments got in the way.
The following video of this simplistic approach to create with paint will amaze you and put a smile on your face:
[jwplayer mxzEqdA8]
But the American Art Therapy Association recommends getting creative with it – paints, pencils and clay – to work out what ails us.
“Through integrative methods, art therapy engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone,” Art Therapy reports. “Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience and empowers individual, communal, and societal transformation.”
And, no, we’re not talking big-kid coloring books that are ever-popular among Millennials. “While the AATA does not discourage the use of coloring books for recreation and self-care, coloring activities must be distinguished from art therapy services provided by a credentialed art therapist.”
But it’s not just Millennials who are turning toward this simple self-expression as a means to regain themselves or simply to learn more about what makes them tick. Art Therapy Blog lists those who can benefit from dabbling:
- People under lots of stress or pressure may use art as therapy.
- Managers and/or staff may be someone who uses art therapy.
- Someone who has mental health problems uses art therapy.
- Someone with learning disabilities or difficulties can use art as therapy.
- Children or young adults having problems in school can use art therapy.
- Kids, teenagers, or adults with personal problems can benefit from using art therapy.
- People with more serious issues can make use of art therapy…For example, people with autism, brain injuries, eating disorders, cancer, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, etc.
- Someone who believes they are problem-free and simply would like to explore themselves more deeply can be someone who uses art therapy.
So, hop on board the bandwagon of self-expression and add your name to the list of unexpected painters like Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson, Anthony Hopkins, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks to explore that side of you left behind.
You might be happy you did!
Weather Reporting – it IS all made up
It’s true. Ever since the rise of the weatherman (sorry, weather women), people on the ground have understood this modern exercise in prognostication is a farce. Being blown over, stripped of crops in a friendly flash floods, enduring freak hail, and all manner of cataclysmic events – large or small, it’s still a nuisance – when the weatherman predicted sunny skies is enough to educate even the youngest observer. Now, however, we have proof.
Check out the brief video exposé to see how it’s done behind the scenes in the weather-room:
[jwplayer yvglkIn2]
Hmmm.
Would that we all could produce a week’s work by way of brain “storming.”
