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Posted by David Lignell on September 27, 2009 at 9:34 p.m.

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Something Unexpected

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Regardless of your faith or epistemology, have you ever had an experience you couldn’t explain? Call it coincidence or divine intervention, but something or someone who saved you at the moment you needed saving?

Let me give you example.

We were driving the 750 miles back to Lawrence after visiting relatives in Michigan this summer. Several hours later, driving south on highway 35 at night I began to have difficulty breathing. Nothing serious at first, but as the miles ticked by I realized that I was beginning to get less and less oxygen into my lungs. I have asthma, but I haven’t had an attack in years. I wasn’t panicked yet, but I began to feel as if a wet blanket were laid over my lungs causing me to labor more and more to get air.

I rolled down the window and took a deep breath, but it didn’t help. After another 30 miles on a desolate highway south of Des Moines, I told my wife that we would need to find someplace to stop and fairly soon. As my throat constricted I felt the panic rise inside me. I stopped the car and stood on the roadside trying to catch my breath. She said she was going to call 911, but I told her to wait a minute to see if the outside air would help.

Now here’s the miracle: it was 11:30 P.M on a Sunday evening and we had been driving over 600 miles. I was hopeful we might find an emergency center in Kansas City, but that was over an hour away and I wasn’t sure what condition I would arrive in. As I stood outside deciding what to do I looked up and saw a sign for Cameron that I hadn’t noticed before. From where I stood, the wind was blowing a tree branch away from the sign so I could read it for a moment until the branch swayed back to occlude the sign. If was as if the branch were swaying back and forth to be noticed.

It was only a few miles away so we decided to drive there to seek help, and if none were available, to call 911 if I got worse.

Within a mile of driving, however, we saw a well-lighted exit sign for Cameron Regional Medical Center. It was a sprawling oasis amidst a dark, rolling prairie and just a stone’s throw off the highway. I was rushed in, given a mixture of gases to inhale, and two shots to reduce the inflammation. Soon we were on our way and both amazed at the convenience and sudden appearance of the facility, which seemed to materialize out of nowhere only moments after we had made our emergency decision.

There have been other examples of intervention that have happened to people I know and love, but none so recent and personal as this life-giving breath was to me.

How about you?

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Posted by David Lignell on August 8, 2009 at 5:30 p.m.

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Final Treasure Hunt - FOUND by Donovan & Emma!

Congratulations - AGAIN - to Donovan and Emma...who are shown with the treasure in front of the mushroom-shaped bushes at Memorial Park Cemetery.

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They are a seasoned crew of pirates who have found 3 of 8 treasures this summer, 1 during the winter, and 3 of 10 the previous summer. By my account, that makes a grand thievery of 37% of all treasures hidden.

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So please help me congratulate them as we raise a mug or two of our favorite pirate drinks in their honor!

The clues are revealed below:

Mark the site of the FSH (Free State Hotel is the original name of the Eldridge Hotel. The site plaque years add up to 9440, which includes the 1940 at the bottom. Divide that by 5 and it equals 1888.)

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a nearby bank’s founding (1888 is the year the Watkins National Bank was erected, which is now the Watkins Museum. Sum the years, all of them including the Lawrence City Seal, and it equals 15,284. Subtract 13,767 and it equals 1517. Pair that with 15 and you have the address for Memorial Park Cemetery.)

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2 mushroom bushes (The treasure was hidden in the lower branches of the bush on the right.)

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Now let's hear from you. How did the hunt go? What ideas do you have for future hunts?

Thanks again for a wonderful Summer of fun!

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Posted by David Lignell on July 18, 2008 at 8:32 p.m.

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Treasure Hunt #6 - The Brass Chalice

Arabella was a princess of middling standing in English nobility during a time of ambition and treachery and usurpations. It was England in the 16th century.http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... rendering of Arabella by Erica LignellArabella had an arranged marriage to a lowly prince on the nether regions of greater London. Although well attended and provided with a splendid palace:http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... rendering of a splendid palace by Bryce Lignell:she often grew tired of her obscurity during a time when other nobility shared the court at Windsor Castle with Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. Arabella sought the services of the legendary conjurer, Marvin the Great. She didn't want to poison her husband, lest she be labeled a widowed courtesan amongst the gentlemen and ladies of court. Instead, she beckoned Marvin for a potion of ambition. Arabella wanted something that would set fire to her husband's desire to demand a higher standing in the court; she wanted her prince to forge ahead into the innermost sanctum of Windsor Castle, and secure a royal birth suitable of her beauty. Marvin produced a brass chalice. He instructed her to fill it with the prince's favorite beverage, which was to be imbibed as the last draw before slumber. Finally, she would have to whisper the word, "power," in his ear as the very last word before his eyes closed.Arabella followed the sage's instructions precisely. Unfortunately, the prince was a bit hard of hearing because of his role as an artillery man in one of many English-French skirmishes. Instead of hearing "power," he heard, "cower," and he begin to tremble uncontrollably. Today, some still speculate that he began to paint as a way to sooth his nerves, and that's how abstract art entered Europe. Arabella was disappointed with the results, so she decided to move ahead on her own. One day she drank her favorite drink from the chalice as the last draw before slumber, and whispered the word "power" aloud. Her favorite drink, however, was tainted with poison. Behind the elaborate bedpost, the chamber maid smiled and gripped tightly a lover's hand that trembled. The brass chalice is now somewhere forgotten in Lawrence and waiting to be discovered anew.http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e... please remember to be careful if you find it. A thirst for power often brings unintended company.The Ground Rules are the same: - The treasure is hidden somewhere in Lawrence on property the public can access- The treasure is placed no higher than four feet off the ground- It will not be buried, though it could be under leaves, sticks or some other object easily moved- If you have questions, post them to the blog- If the treasure remains undiscovered, a new clue will be posted each week until it is discoveredWhen you solve the riddle and find the treasure, please take a picture with you at the location and email to me at dave_lig@hotmail.com. I will post it along with a bevy of accolades for out performing everyone else in the hunt. NOTE: Please keep your photograph optimized to a file size less than 500k, or about 3 x 4 inches.Here's your riddle:West of TR's granite displaya "K" is burdened under a load of flowers and scrubsNorth to centeramong three knarled fellowsGood luck, be safe and HAVE FUN!!

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Posted by David Lignell on June 22, 2008 at 8:12 a.m.

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Treasure Hunt No. 3 “Non omne quod nitet aurum est”

Hey, it's okay: I don't speak Latin either. It means, "not all that shines is gold."But don't tell that to Prospector Pete. He's hiding somewhere in a Lawrence park where he's sitting on a pile of GOLD! (Fool's gold, that is.) http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/e...'s why some folks call him Pyrite Pete behind his back. Solve the riddle and Pete's your new best buddy. Use him as a paper weight for your office or place him on your nightstand as an object lesson.My first treasure hunt, which posted on May 10, 2008, lasted only six days. Three pirate scalawags, Mike Limburg, Megan Hawman and Alex Hawman, found several British coins sequestered in a silver case in Centennial Park. The second treasure trove contained faux jewelry. Unfortunately, I made the riddle a bit obscure and placed the treasure near some poison ivy and indigent campers. Go figure. Anyway, those same scalawags who solved the first hunt were close on the trail of the second one, and one of them (a.k.a., Beerdrinkingfool) eventually found it.This brings us to number three, which glitters like gold.The Ground Rules are the same: - The treasure is hidden somewhere in Lawrence on property the public can access - The treasure is placed no higher than four feet off the ground - It will not be buried, though it could be under leaves, sticks or some other object easily moved - If you have questions, post them to the blog - If the treasure remains undiscovered, a new clue will be posted each week until it is discovered - Remember to have fun. When you solve the riddle and find the treasure, please take a picture with you at the location and email to me at dave_lig@hotmail.com. I will post it along with a bevy of accolades for out performing everyone else in the hunt. Here's your riddle:Take haventhen down 28gaze Southno Jester holds court herebut Pete doeshis panningbeyond the keyon the sylvan edgeold fool!GOOD LUCK and keep us posted on your progress!

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