Tuscan Traveler’s Tribute to Ellen Reavis

The fish tank was back.  The same week that the huge colorful aquarium was returned to its place in the waiting room of the UNM Cancer Center, Ellen Reavis left this world for a new adventure. Ellen didn’t know that in a life of both big and little causes, she was the victor in her last skirmish – the fish tank was back.

Ellen was a regular at the Cancer Center.  Everyone knew her as the Jolly Buddha, dressed in either tie-dyed or exotic Hawaiian shirts.  She had the largest repertoire of hats to cover her pink bald head.  When … Read More

Scoppio del Carro – Ancient Easter Cart Blows Sky High

Between 10 and 11 o’clock on Easter Sunday morning, a tradition that has played out annually over the last 500 years will be celebrated in front of the Duomo in Florence. The Scoppio del Carro, or Explosion of the Cart, is a mixed pagan/religious ceremony. Marking both Easter and Spring, the successful ignition of the cart guarantees good crops, a successful harvest, stable civic life and bountiful trade, as well as signifying the passage of new holy fire to light those extinguished on Good Friday.

A thirty-foot carved and painted wooden cart (the present version is over 150 years … Read More