ALTON BRIDGE

How many bridges are there across the Mississippi? Depends on the source you look at - 130? 133? 142? It also depends on how you define a functioning bridge. St. Louis City and County have nine, if I count correctly, two of which are exclusively for railroad use. But there is another one that used to carry historic U.S. Route 66 across the river that is so narrow and worn that it can now only be used for pedestrian sightseeing.

This one is the Alton Bridge, north of St. Louis, from St. Charles County, Missouri, to Alton, Illinois. The eagle in Monday's post was just up and to my left from the place I took this picture.            

ENTROPY

A last post from Alton, Illinois, still in Old Alton Cemetery. I've been in a lot of places like this and never seen so many ruined monuments. What caused this collapse - poor materials or workmanship? A terrible storm or an earthquake? (We have small ones occasionally, with a low but definite risk of a big one.) It's interesting to see how the obelisk cracked in two as it fell.

The posts get much more colorful starting tomorrow.                

ELIJAH LOVEJOY

Something else from Old Alton Cemetery, Elijah Lovejoy's grave and monument. He was a major figure in the early abolitionist movement in this country. Lovejoy was born in Albion, Maine (I think I've been through there), later ending up in St. Louis and Alton as a Presbyterian minister, journalist and newspaper editor. It was in the latter capacity at the Alton Telegraph that his opinion pieces led to his murder at the hands of a pro-slavery mob at the age of 34.

The hazy light wasn't good enough to make the text in the second picture legible. If you would like to learn more about him, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Parish_Lovejoy.                

 

O MIO BABBINO CARO (E ANCHE LA MAMMA)

Alton has an Old Cemetery that's worth a visit. It is very hilly (most of the town is) and  some of it is in poor condition. We were looking for the grave and monument of Elijah Lovejoy (more about which later) and came across this. The stones are hardly bigger than my shoe. The scene looked sorrowful and dejected.

It has been said that I have loose associations (something I'm happy about). The loudspeaker in my head immediately began to play one of the great moments in Western music, O Mio Babbino Caro (O My Dear Daddy) from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (https://youtu.be/uFLVKaFVGag). Mamma doesn't get nearly enough credit.              

BIRTH OF THE COOL

Another statue of a native of Alton, Illinois, Miles Davis. One of the giants of jazz came from this bit of a backwater, although he didn't stay long. It's a wonderful statue, showing him with his spine arched backward, so often his posture in intense passages.  

The caption comes from an early album of the same name (an example at https://youtu.be/KcoqwKEtYDs). I became acquainted with Davis when his style turned to jazz-rock fusion in the powerful Jack Johnson of 1971, https://youtu.be/DEBKksupBVA. A glance at the album cover on Youtube will show you where the statue's posture came from.           

THE TALLEST MAN EVER, ANYWHERE

Another gee whiz fact about Alton, Illinois. It was the birthplace of Robert Wadlow, who, according to Wikipedia, was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow . He grew to 8 feet, 11 inches or 2.72 meters. His height was due to a pituitary disorder which caused an excess of human growth hormone. He lived only 22 years, succumbing to infection from a defect in a leg brace.  

PIASA BIRD

The land from St. Louis to Alton on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River is very flat. It would be flooded often were it not for the large levees. However, from Alton upstream along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers there are tall limestone bluffs overlooking the waters.

The first one rises abruptly on the western edge of town. There you will find an imaginative painting of the legendary, monstrous Piasa (PIE a saw) bird. There are several versions of the story. Look at http://www.altonweb.com/history/piasabird/ if interested. The photos on the link are old, with much brighter colors.          

THE SAMURAI OF ALTON

   

Everybody is more than a little stir crazy. The Crowe family is on a post-Thanksgiving getaway, although not very far from home. The town of Alton, Illinois, is an outer suburb of St. Louis, on the Mississippi straight north of our home. We are spending two nights at the splendid Beall Mansion, https://www.beallmansion.com/. It is a luxurious Victorian confection turned into a grand B&B. They have taken great safety measures for guests and we feel comfortable. Plus, I think we are the only guests here.

 

Out exploring the waterways on Saturday. We are near the confluences of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers.            

Drill, Baby, Drill

I always admire the craft of ice sculptors. We see them working freehand with precision. Do they have some kind of template when they start the process? Where do you get an ice template? 

About out of material so may have to go archive diving. We are expecting a fair amount of snow from Friday afternoon into Saturday and that should provide plenty.  I may not like it so much but Ellie will.        

The Piasa Bird

Just upstream from the center of Alton, Illinois, there is a limestone bluff with the image of a fearsome creature. It is known as the Piasa Bird (pronounced PIE-a-saw). Its history and meaning is too long to set out here but if you are interested click this link.