Columbus, Ohio, USA

"Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. . . we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — we face them honestly, we bring them to the light, and we do all we can to address them." President Biden, 2021. [2017]

Hagerman, Idaho, USA

Wool became the economic base of the Hagerman Valley after the railroads came through in the late 1800s. To honor the pioneering sheep ranchers, many of whom were Basques, one of the locals commissioned a full-scale memorial to the sheep "trailin' home." [2020]

Century, Florida, USA

You don't even have to invite Lady Liberty to your picnic (or pay her airfare from New York). She's already at the park waiting for you and the gang in Century, Florida. Perhaps she got confused. After all, she came to the U.S. to mark a century of the French Revolution. [2005]

Dublin, Ireland

Right in the heart of Dublin, on O'Connell Street, is the heart of Irish literary culture. James Joyce is Ireland's most famous author, and his novel Ulysses is regarded as one of the canon tomes of the 20th century. Its setting: Dublin, of course. [2003]

Santa Rosa, California, USA

Charlie Brown and Snoopy have been planning April Fool's tricks all year, and this is the day they plan to use one on you! Beware! As for this memorial: It's in Charles Shultz' adopted home town, Santa Rosa. Where are Lucy and Linus, you ask. Keep looking. They're lurking around town somewhere. [2005]

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Yesterday, everybody in New Orleans was acting like a horse's ass. Today, they are confessing their sins and promising good behavior for the next forty days. Who's riding that stead? Andrew Jackson, positioned in the middle of Jackson Square. The original inhabitants of North America consider him a horse's ass. Do you know why? [2022]

New York, New York, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22/22 is a palindrome too (a 5-digit palindrome)! On this day in 1877, the U.S. Congress accepted Lady Liberty as a gift from France, but she didn't make her appearance in New York Harbor until 1885, when (because of the original torch) she was classified as a lighthouse. Be sure to see yesterday's post. [2020]

Greeley, Colorado, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! She is not in New York Harbor but on a courthouse lawn in Colorado. She was one of perhaps 200 that originated as a BSA project in the euphoria over winning World War II. BSA? That's Boy Scouts of America. Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2013]

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! "The one victory we can ever call complete will be that one which proclaims that there is not a slave on the face of God's green earth." So wrote Mr. Lincoln in 1842, long before he was President. Here he is signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Be sure to see yesterday's post. [2016]

Charleston, Illinois, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! Here is what a chain-saw artist created to help Charlestonians celebrate Lincoln's birthday. Locals call him "Tiny Head Abe." But why did the city have to put him behind a chain-link fence? Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2017]

Zurich, Switzerland, and East Berlin, Pennsylvania, USA

Even though he was one of the fathers of the Reformation, Ulrich Zwingli makes only a rare appearance on the religious landscape of the Christian world. But, here in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, a United Church of Christ keeps Zwingli's name alive, and apparently his message, too: "We are called to reform." [1984 and 2014]

Miami, Florida, USA

Paving the way for Geography Awareness Week this year were the Glasgow Climate accords. Yet, the agreement will allow greenhouse gases to rise by 14% over the next nine years even though they need to fall by 45%. Perhaps this memorial in Woodlawn Park Cemetery is destined to be seen as a harbinger of things to come: a graveyard home for our planet. [2014]

Denver, Colorado, USA

Today, the State of Colorado is 145 years old. Yet, that is only two generations. Any native Coloradan who was born in 1876 has undoubtedly passed on, but, if he fathered a child at the age of fifty, that child could be a spry 95 this year. In those 145 years, however, an entire era of human geography has closed: See the statue? [2019 and 2005]

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

In 1830, 40 million bison lived under the stars of freedom, just like the country's human co-occupants. But, Americans couldn't leave their hands (or guns!) off them. They declined to 325 by 1885. Bison numbers have since increased to 500,000 but virtually all live in the prisons we call "reserves," so maybe prison-stripes on the rump are appropriate. [2007]

Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

Even a tawdry sheet-metal plant can look sharp if it has Old Glory on top. And, that smiling tin man standing sentry seems as proud as can be of his flag and his country. O Are you flying your favorite flag on this Independence Day? [2013]

Nicosia, Cyprus

It may only be a parish church in Nicosia, but it still has a bust of Archbishop Makarios III, the cleric who became the first president of independent Cyprus. If you think the edifice looks aged enough to be within the walls of old Nicosia, you would be right. The original church goes back to the Byzantine era. [2004]

Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Duke of Gloucester (DOG!) Street has changed since last year at this time. Covid hit in March and everything closed. With summer, however, people wanted a return to normalcy. TJ (see him?) reminded them to abide by the science. That meant only open spaces would do for rekindling friendships. Voila! Tables where there were none before. [2020]

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

He stands in front of  Glasgow Central as a bronze memorial to fallen firefighters. But, we saw him differently after the events of September 11, 2001. Then, we saw him, again, in a new light after the coronavirus pandemic began. It is amazing how the present re-contextualizes the past. [2004]

New York, New York, USA

Quiz: 1. What is the name of the island where the Statue of Liberty is located? 2. What is the name of the island where One World Trade Center is located? 3. Lady Liberty was a gift from what country? 4. What event leveled New York City's old World Trade Center? 5. How tall is One World Trade Center in feet? [2020]

Gadsden, Alabama, USA

There is not much left of Noccalula Falls. Too dry this year. But, princess Noccalula remains vigilant, frozen in time at the moment before taking the leap that ended her life. She was not about to enter into an arranged marriage with someone she didn't love! The irony: The building perched above the falls is a wedding chapel. [2020]