What does a larger-than-life T1-30 calculator symbolize in a graveyard? CALCULATOR GRAVE MARKER: That really is a larger-than-life replica of a Texas Instruments T1-30 calculator at the top of this post. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you! So, what exactly does this unique cemetery headstone represent? Is it symbolic of a human adding and subtracting all their good deeds from their bad? Or, perhaps, did an eccentric mathematician bury his or her favorite calculator there upon its demise? I didn’t get close enough to photograph the calculator display because, sadly, I was actually attending a funeral when I…
Tag: Texas
Two Paranormal Investigations in Mineral Wells, Texas As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about Haunted Hill House, my husband and I spent last weekend with with our dear friend and talented psychic, Teal Gray, over in Mineral Wells, Texas for a writing research trip. Part of that research included participating in two different paranormal investigations. The first investigation took place at Phil Kurchoff’s Haunted Hill House. You can read all about by following the link I shared above. The second investigation was at the Crazy Water Hotel. This historic venue is not open to the public and difficult to gain entrance…
FREE Cemetery Symbols Guide: Would you like a FREE guide to historic cemetery symbolism? If so, click the image below: Writing Research Trip & Ghost Hunting Even though I wrote a chapter on Mineral Wells in my first book, Unexpected Texas, I keep learning interesting things about this historic Texas town. (So much so that I’ve got another book underway – but that’s another story for another day!) Meanwhile, there’s so much on my Mineral Wells to-do list that I recently took a writing research trip there. My husband, Larry, and my pal, Teal Gray, came along for the ride. We had…
What the Heck is Juneteenth? In this era of cell phones and social networking, it’s easy to forget news did not always travel so quickly. Case in point: even though Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862, slaves in Texas did not learn of their freedom until nearly two and a half years later! Can you imagine finding out that you were no longer a slave, and that you had actually been free for the past two years? Juneteenth celebrates the day Texans finally got wind of this tremendous news! Here’s the story in a nut shell:…
Salt Palace in Grand Saline The following is an adapted excerpt from my award winning travel guide, Unexpected Texas: While the French equivalent of “window shopping” translates as “window licking” this is something that literally occurs every day at the Salt Palace in Grand Saline, Texas. The unusual building, which houses a visitor center and museum for the town and the nearby Morton Salt Company mine, is built entirely out of salt crystal bricks held together by a salt/mortar mixture. This strange combination proves tempting to many visitors who satisfy their curiosity by taking a tiny taste of its walls. A…
Jesus in Cowboy Boots? I had such a hard time coming up with a good cemetery symbol for the letter J that I decided to re-post my entry for the 2013 A to Z blog challenge, in which my theme was Quirky Texas. That was my first year, and I didn’t yet realize that A to Z posts are meant to be short and sweet. This is a fun one, though. Enjoy! How to leave a comment on this post Please comment about this post on Tui Snider’s Facebook. Leave your link in the comments, and I’ll drop by your…