Sunday, June 21, 2009

Bedouin Cavalry

I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to spend another week looking at the Middle East, and more specifically, Bedouins. I find these pictures fascinating, and it reminds me of our week looking at Mexican Bandits. I really like this picture, which was taken in 1946, and it shows King Abdullah's Arab Legion. These guys are well armed, and mounted on camels.

Well, I had a lot of fun yesterday with the Mystery Person contest. The first one was the Queen of Ethiopia in the early 1900's. She was the wife of Haile Selassie, and called by some the Queen of Sheeba. Nate got it in under two minutes. I was surprised as I thought that would be a hard one. So, round two was Anna Spafford, who co-founded the American Colony in Jerusalem in the late 1800's. That one was very hard, but Nate got it in under a minute. Then, round three was President Diaz of Mexico. This one turned out to be really hard, and took most of the day for a winner to emerge. I was surprised this one was so hard, given Mexico is our neighbor. I think what threw people off was the regal outfit he was wearing. People immediately started looking into European and Russian royalty, and no one was looking down Mexico way. Anyway, I thought it was great fun. I got so wrapped up in the contest, I forgot that Mrs. PJM had told me to call the plumber and have him come out and put in the new faucet in the utility room. I had intended on doing it myself, but I got so wrapped up in the Mystery Person Contest, and the news coverage of the Iranian Revolution that I forgot. She came home from work, walked in the house, and asked if I had called the plumber. Well, I was in a certain amount of trouble. I am finding this week's poll question interesting. I am not surprised that Women think I should call the plumber, but I would have expected that the Men would be rallying to my support more in doing it myself. Maybe today I will crack open the box on the new faucet and see what I am up against.
Posted by at
Labels:

13 comments:

  1. MBadragan

    I missed your message yesterday
    things being so hectic, and I do
    miss the sun.
    We've had two bad summers here
    but this one's looking better.

    As a child I was partly brought
    up in Australia, up in the north
    of Queensland near Townsville.
    You get 300 days of sunshine
    there, for the other 65 it rains
    almost non-stop. Monsoon season, hot and humid.

    Good luck on your travels. Ray

    PJM
    You really caught me out yesterday.
    I spent at least an hour trying
    to match a Mexican emperor to
    Jerusalem. In the end I knew some-
    thing was wrong but never thought
    we had crossed the Atlantic back
    to Mexico.
    I apologise only for Allenby, which
    was truely way off.
    Look forward to more Bedouin photos, and still think the plumer
    is the way to go.

    Yes, I was brought up on the
    Queen's land.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Ray, I don't understand you. I spent some time in Lincolnshire and I loved the weather. :)) Joking, actually I have no idea in which part of UK you're living.

    And the weather here is very bad. I'm in the Golden Triangle, a small piece of land between Nile and the sea and the humidity is huge. To say nothing about the temperature.

    PJM

    I was one oof the men voting to have the plumber sent to hell. Come on man! You can do it! Think about those beduins. You think they let anybody else to do their jobs. Being the man of the house is a duty!

    (but, for your health and phisical integrity's sake don't forget to close the water first, the closest to the main supply pipe the better)

    ReplyDelete

  3. MBadragan

    It's strange. I was born in Cleethorpes which is in north
    Linconshire, on the Humber river,
    almost a part of Grimsby.

    I now live in Hastings, east
    Sussex overlooking the English
    Channel, as the English call it.

    ReplyDelete

  4. I'm conflicted on how to answer the poll. I'm discovering that sometimes it's better for everyone if I keep my advice to myself. I want to tell you to fix it yourself, but I also want you to have a decent chance at getting a tractor and having a happy Mrs. PJM.

    ReplyDelete

  5. PJM

    I really hope you will report tomorrow that you "maned up" and replaced the faucet and that it was easy. Don't let these women emasculate all of us anymore than they already have. MBD is correct that you should first turn off the water to that line or, if that is not possible, to the whole house.

    We are depending on you!

    ReplyDelete

  6. Well, Ray, I spent two Novembers around Spalding these last 2 years and I can tell you I fell in love with the land, the weather and the people there.

    First time I lived in a small inn in Easton on the Hill. Great area, great inn, great cook and smoking companion. And that river crossing Spalding... a miracle.

    I really entartained the thought of moving there. Had a good job offer.

    You see, Romania, where I come from, is a country of extremes. The winter is very cold and dry, the summer is terribly hot and humid. And normal temperatures we only have 2-3 weeks a year. That's why I liked being in that part of England.

    ReplyDelete

  7. Got here from Google, looking for a photograph of the early telephone operators, of which I was one. I'm in love with old photos.....particularly since I'm in most of them. lol

    ReplyDelete

  8. MBadragan

    I understand. The landscape, weather and the people are great.
    As an ex-seaman I like extremes.

    At the age of five my parents
    emigrated to this amazing tropical
    landscape by a massive river, the Burdekin, the largest river in
    Queensland.
    From the north sea blasted coast
    of Linconshire to...another world.
    It is the extremes that I like.

    ReplyDelete

  9. PJM;

    Make sure you have the right tools, some extra fittings if necessary, take your time - so you don't cross thread anything, and you'll be fine...

    (I'd still stay away from rigid PVC for any lines under pressure, but I've already mentioned that...)


    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete

  10. I assume you will have a poll for the ladies next? It will be amusing.

    ReplyDelete

  11. Please post as many Bedouin pictures as you can. :-)

    My favorite movies are Seven Samurai and Lawrence of Arabia.

    The perfect movie would be a blend of the two but it's not to be.

    Ah well, a boy can dream....

    ReplyDelete

  12. @pocketlama: hehehe, Seven Samurai is a great movie. And, by the way, it would be nice to see a scene with KIKUCHIYO (Toshiro Mifune) playing as a plumber. Would be hilarious. PJM, don't try this at home :)

    @Ray You sound like you had a life full of adventures my friend. Sounds very nice. I am too young and was trapped in Romania for more than half of my life to have as many stories as you have. But I'm doing my best to catch up. And, as in your case, my job is fit for such a quest.

    ReplyDelete

  13. So, Anna Spafford, did everything her husband did in petticoats and whale bone? ;o)

    I was touched by the the Spafford's life story and their willingness to triumph over their losses through selflessness.
    http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/americancolony/amcolony-family.html

    Thank you, PJM, for providing a way for us to broaden our horizons.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)