Charles Dickens and the earthquake

Building this bad boy was one of our first home improvements. It takes up the whole wall (we like our books). It's not a new picture by any means, but I've been busy doing things that don't photograph well, so I don't have any new pictures.


It's John Deere's birthday, though (1804).

And in 1812, the strongest in a series of earthquakes centered near New Madrid, Missouri, struck. The Mississippi River flowed backwards for part of the day. Charles Dickens was also born that day.

One hundred years later, Roy Cleveland Sullivan was born. He became a ranger in Shenandoah National Park, and was struck by lightning seven times: in 1942 he lost a big toenail to lightning; in 1969 his eyebrows were blown off; his shoulder was seared in 1970; his hair set on fire in 1972; the 1973 bolt hit him on the head through his hat, set fire to his hair again, knocked him ten feet out of his car, went through both legs and knocked his left shoe off; there were two further strikes in 1977 and 1978. He committed suicide in 1983.