Suitable for Framing // Bollard

As promised, my readers always get a two-fer with each posting.

On the physical puzzling front, I have once again discovered that my bad ideas, in time, can become good ideas — i.e. from my wife’s perspective.

Switching from a cable TV service to a satellite service was a bad idea in her opinion.

I did it anyway.

It became a good idea when the cable provider’s network crashed leaving us with no LAN line or in-home wireless service.

As we continued to watch TV, she said, “It’s a good thing we switched to satellite.”

In December of last year when our puzzle obsession began, I thought it would be good to frame completed puzzles, and display them around our home. Bad idea, Joan said, so I’ve been hanging them in the garage.

But now, after completing two gorgeous Springbok scenes, Joan wants to frame them and display them so they’re visible to anyone entering via the front door. You’ll see photos of that after they’re in place.

Bollard

Before July of 2015 I had never heard of the word “bollard”. I met up with my first bollard on my 3 week long “bucket list” tour of Spain.

Accompanied by my brother, we began in Barcelona, detoured for a day to Southern France, then to Madrid, through the Iberian Peninsula, with another detour to Morocco, following the Southern Coast, we worked our way back North to Madrid.

Joan, my wife, didn’t go due to her conviction that a large number of commercial flights fall unexpectedly into the ocean. No survivors.

We spent 2 days touring Toledo (not Ohio), the adopted hometown of the 16th century artist, El Greco, which, of course means the Greek. The fact that his real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos explains why he’s known as El Greco.

On our 2nd day in Toledo, we found ourselves lost. (You too, may someday, find yourself lost.)

We were in the process of figuring out how to get back to our hotel which was outside of Toledo. We needed some form of transport and chose the bus. Where’s the bus stop? On our right up a steep hill we see a small cluster of people apparently waiting at the curb. We’re guessing, but we break into a fast walk (top speed for us) hoping to catch the bus out of Toledo. My attention is focused on the top of the hill. And, that’s when I met the bollard.

There are 2 kinds of bollards. One of them is used to secure a boat to the dock. The other is used to prevent motorized vehicles from using walkways. Both are short and stubby and hard to see if you’re looking up.

I took a hard fall. Fortunately, a scraped right knee was my only injury.

For nearly 5 years I’ve marveled at the similarity between the shape of my scar and the country of Spain.