Parents’ worse nightmare: Their child is in trouble overseas

by Jamie Rhein on

For the past couple of days, two stories have been appearing in various forms in the media–one splashier than the other, but both are what parents nightmares are made of. These are the situations they hope they don’t get a phone call about. One is about Amanda Knox, the college student who is in an Italian jail waiting to see if she will spend years there if she’s found guilty for murdering her roommate in a crime that reads like an outlandish tale– perfect for a murder mystery novel. Evidence is not conclusive.

The other story is about Devon Hollahan, an English teacher who vanished from the streets in Frankfurt, Germany at two in the morning when his friend was asking for directions after they attended a Portugal and the Man concert. Hollahan was about twenty feet away from his friend whose back was turned just long enough for Hollahan to disappear unnoticed.

In both cases, the parents of Knox and Hollahan, two people in their early twenties, are part of heartbreaking scenarios and a testimony to the worst that can happen when children grow up past childhood and travel miles past their parents’ admonitions to be careful.

Such news is hard enough when it happens within ones own country. When it happens in a foreign country, parents find themselves in positions dealing with horrific situations in places that may have different procedures than their own country. The legal system in Italy works differently than the one in the U.S., for example.

Knox’s parents and Hollahan’s dad jumped on airplanes in order to offer help. Being on the same side of the Atlantic is a start. It’s a way to be involved, to take action–to have a role in an outcome even if the action does not turn up a positive result.

Hollahan’s dad is not hopeful that his son will be found alive but the dad’s presence in Frankfurt is surely helping the investigation. Hopefully, he will not have to wait long to find out some answers. I can’t imagine what it would be like to take a trip back across the Atlantic without knowing.

In Knox’s case, the verdict will be coming soon. Her family is hopeful they’ll be bringing her home with them. Again, the alternative seems too dreadful.

Both parents’ stories are a reminder that when we travel, it’s important to keep in mind the loved ones we have left at home. Although there are no guarantees when we get up in the morning that our day will go swimmingly well without a mishap, when taking on a particular adventure or experience keep in mind that it’s better to keep ones wits about you and not let your guard down without being aware of your circumstances.

Consider the thought, if this situation goes wrong, what would my parents do? On the other hand, life in one’s own country is risky as well. Life is risky business. In Knox’s case, though, who would have ever dreamed up such a story?

Mystery Hill–America’s Stonehenge?

by Sean McLachlan on

In the quiet woods of New Hampshire, there lies a mystery. Strange monuments of stone are interspersed among the trees. Some look like squat houses, others like enclosures of some kind, and there’s a large, flat stone with a channel cut around it that looks perfect for some bloody ritual.

This is America’s Stonehenge, also known as Mystery Hill, and it’s been attracting the curious for generations. The owners claim it could be 4,000 years old, built by a lost Native American tribe or some unknown civilization. Others think that druids or Irish monks sailed across the sea and built this as a ceremonial center. Researchers claim to have found that some of the standing stones have astronomical alignments and would have helped the ancient builders schedule their harvest and plowing as well as religious rituals.

It’s not all ancient mysteries either. The site has 105 acres of woodlands open to snowshoeing in winter, and there’s an alpaca farm where you can pet the friendly creatures or even take one home if you’re willing to plunk down a few grand.

But is this really “America’s Stonehenge”? Professional archaeologists tend to dismiss the claims on several grounds–no ancient European artifacts have been found at the site, the structures aren’t all that similar to ones found in Europe, and in fact look more like Colonial period storage buildings. The “sacrificial altar”, according to one archaeologist, looks like a Colonial apple press. There’s also the problem that the man who bought the site in the 1930s allegedly moved around many of the stones to make it look more impressive.

But that doesn’t stop a devoted subculture of enthusiasts who believe this was one of the major religious centers of an advanced civilization whose remains can be found all over new England and beyond. Championed by the popular writer Barry Fell in his book America B.C. and a host of other authors, these folks are conducting research into America’s past that tells a widely different story than those of professional archaeologists. Their theories range from lost civilizations, visits by European civilizations before the Vikings, to stranger ideas involving Atlantis and aliens.

As a former archaeologist, I have to say I lean strongly toward the “reworked Colonial era farm” theory. Yet America’s Stonehenge is a strangely evocative place, and one cannot help feel an eerie tingle when wandering amidst the silent stones. There’s something about them that creates an air of mystery that is hard to dismiss.

And everyone loves a good mystery.

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Have you seen. . .The Thing?

by Sean McLachlan on

As you drive through the desert along I-10 you see them–garish signs beckoning you to explore the mystery of “The Thing?” The signs are everywhere, 247 of them stretching from Arizona to Texas. The journey is long and boring, punctuated only by bad country music and Born-Again preachers on the radio. Finally you make it to Exit 322 at Dragoon, Arizona, and see the cheap yellow, red, and blue facade inviting you to stop and see The Thing? itself.

How could you say no? I couldn’t. A long, long time ago, a much younger Museum Junkie felt the siren call of roadside America and pulled over in his 82 Nissan Stanza to find out what The Thing? really was.

Past a curio shop stuffed with plastic tomahawks and The Thing? shot glasses, I entered a back lot with three sheds. The first two were stuffed with dusty displays of fascinating junk, everything from a mock-up of a torture room to a 1937 Rolls Royce supposedly owned by Hitler. There were strange carvings made of roots and driftwood too, and random bits that looked like they were saved from a dumpster behind an antique mall.

But then I spied the yellow trail of Bigfoot prints leading to the third shed. I followed them and beheld in all it’s glory–THE THING?!!!

So what is it? A crashed UFO? A fifty-foot Eiffel Tower made out of jelly beans? J. Edgar Hoover’s drag queen outfits? No! It’s. . .it’s. . .

. . .well, it’s this. A dusty female mummy holding a baby mummy and shyly hiding her geriatric genitalia behind a Chinese hat.

Is it real? This former archaeologist made a thorough examination of it (by staring through the dirty glass) and came up with the professional diagnosis of “maybe”. The face looks pretty fake, making me suspect its a paper mache dummy with a few spare ribs from somebody’s barbecue added for effect, but something made me think twice. Dessicated human remains are fairly common in the Arizona desert, and were even more common back in 1950 when the museum opened.

As an archaeology student at the University of Arizona back in the day, I got to tour the state forensics lab and saw several of these mummies. Some were ancient native Americans, others dated to modern times and were what the lab attendants referred to as JPFROG (Just Plain F**cking Ran Out Of Gas).

Another roadside attraction, The Million Dollar Museum in New Mexico, had several of these things, but sadly they have closed. According to unverified reports (what else would you expect?) the FBI was sufficiently convinced the mummies were real that they hauled them away for DNA testing.

Ancient mummy, cheesy fake, or JPFROG? You be the judge. Go to. . .The Thing?

Or be lazy and watch this YouTube video narrated by Hunter S. Thompson (not really).

A legendary stone circle in England

by Sean McLachlan on

Everyone knows about Stonehenge, England’s most famous ancient monument, but did you know that there are nearly a thousand similar stone circles in the United Kingdom? Some are almost as big as Stonehenge, and all are steeped in folklore and legend.

A favorite of mine are the Rollright Stones, which you can get to as an easy day trip from Oxford or London. They’re near Chipping Norton, a fifty-minute bus ride from Oxford. This is a chance to get out of town and experience some of England’s peaceful countryside as well as a bit of prehistoric mystery.

The Rollright Stones is actually a general name for three ancient monuments within sight of each other. There’s a circle of low stones called the King’s Men, and nearby is a tall, strangely shaped stone called the King Stone (pictured here). A little further away is a cluster of five tall stones called the Whispering Knights. The names come from an old legend.

A long time ago, the legend says, a king and his army were passing through the countryside when five of his knights drew apart and conspired against him. As this was happening, a witch appeared and told him that if he could see the village of Long Compton a mile to the north by taking seven steps, he would become king of England. The king headed off, stretching out his legs as long as he could to get as far as possible, but on his seventh step a ridge rose up ahead of him. This ridge is still there and is called the Arch-Druid’s Barrow. The witch cackled and told him that he would never be king of England. Then the king, his knights, and the conspirators all turned to stone.

(I’m only repeating a legend, folks, so please don’t start a religious flame war like the last time I mentioned witches)

Stone circles are also associated with fertility, and old reports tell of young men and women meeting at the stones to eat, drink and, ahem, “be merry.” Ladies, if you want to find out the name of your future husband, press your ear against one of the Whispering Knights and he’ll whisper it to you. If you’re trying to get pregnant, press your breasts against the King Stone and you soon will be. “Making merry” with someone would probably help too.

So much for legend, what’s the real story of the Rollright Stones?

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The Whispering Knights used to have a roof, making a little building called a dolmen. Dolmens were used as tombs for important people and were generally covered with earth to make an artificial hill. It dates to about 4000-3500 BC. This was during the Neolithic, what archaeologists call the last phase of the Stone Age.

The King’s Men was built in the late Neolithic around 2500-2000 BC and is one of many stone circles set up at that time. Many of these circles have astronomical alignments, and the King’s Men is no exception. Two stones line up to mark the spot on the horizon where the moon rises on midsummer’s night. What does this mean? Nobody knows, since they hadn’t invented writing yet.

The King Stone is a bit more recent, probably erected around 1800-1500 BC in the Bronze Age. It’s a single standing stone and marked the spot for a cemetery. It’s interesting that people chose to bury their dead here at this site, already ancient in their day. Some researchers have tried to find astronomical alignments with the King’s Men, but there’s no solid theory yet.

There’s an easy, eight-mile circular hike to get to the Rollright Stones from Chipping Norton, the nearest town of any size. Details of the hike can be found in most hiking guides covering Oxfordshire. I used 50 Walks in Oxfordshire (AA Publishing, 2003).

Crop circles are back!

by Sean McLachlan on

Remember crop circles, those strange shapes that started appearing in the Nineties in fields all across England? We haven’t heard much about them lately, but according to an article in the Guardian’s G2 magazine, this year hikers in England’s beautiful countryside should see a bumper crop. May was a banner month, and new circles are already showing up in June. The article has an interesting gallery of some of this year’s best and gives a step-by-step guide to making your own, although there are more detailed instructions at How Stuff Works.

Nobody is sure when the crop circle phenomenon actually began, but simple designs caught the attention of UFO researchers in the Seventies. Soon simple circles weren’t enough and designs became more and more elaborate. Paranormal investigators argued whether they were made by aliens, earth spirits, or dozens of other possible sources. They tried to ignore the TV interviews with artists who showed how you could flatten wheat into designs with simple tools such as a board and rope. The craze eventually spread to mainland Europe, Japan, and North America.

Some artists have even created an organization called Circlemakers and boast of their work on their website. Not only have these guys done the typical circles and designs, they’ve also done ads for Shredded Wheat, Nike, and Hello Kitty.

This hasn’t stopped organizations such as the Wiltshire Crop Circle Study Group from studying what they say is an unexplained phenomenon. They claim that while evidence such as post holes or confessions by artists prove most crop circles are man made, a minority of circles defy explanation, an argument that is tantamount to saying that while we have documentation for the construction of most medieval cathedrals, there are no blueprints or payrolls for other cathedrals and therefore they must have been made by aliens.

But that is neither here nor there. The truth is not as mundane as the skeptics insist or the believers fear–in fact the truth is even more amazing than UFOs or Earth Powers or whatever. Dedicated groups of artists have, usually for no fame or money, imprinted complex works of art onto the landscape under the cover of night. England has always been a culture deeply tied to its landscape and hiking is one of the most popular activities here. Most of its ancient monuments such as Stonehenge or Silbury Hill are in fact modifications of their natural surroundings. As England becomes more urban, the English are losing touch with the landscape. The artists who make crop circles are bringing their country back to its roots. It’s an amazing cultural movement that is giving the country beautiful works of art rooted in tradition yet with a futuristic twist. They should be applauded.

I once got to examine a crop circle near West Kennet Long Barrow. Circle makers like to make their designs near ancient sites, which is pretty easy considering the countryside is full of them. This circle was a simple pattern, a big circle with some radial designs. Being on the hill leading up to one of England’s most impressive megalithic ruins added to the atmosphere and made the visit more memorable. As the hiking season gets going, I’m starting a new series called English Country Walks. If I come across more crop circles, I’ll be sure to take photos and share them here!