Llangollen, Wales

A week ago yesterday my son Mike and I were in Llangollen, Wales (pronounced Clan-gof-flen), which as I mentioned earlier reminds me more than any other Old Country town I've seen of Nanty Glo. Our sister town and namesake, Nantyglo, in South Wales (commonly called in that area, Nantyglo-Blaina as the two adjacent towns are always "twinned") has been modernized so that it retains few traces of its coal and iron production heyday. Its river has even been covered to run underground. Llangollen, more remote and in the slate producing section of North Wales, retains the flavor of its earlier eras. Its gentle foothill surroundings (as seen in the photo) are reminiscent of Nanty Glo's setting, and the river (in the foreground), though wider and swifter, reminds me of our Blacklick Creek, especially when swollen with spring thaws and rains. As a holiday weekend treat, I'm sharing this photo of how Llangollen looks today. More photos will be added as the processing continues, and I'll let you know where they can be found when they're made available.

An accurate sign

Sent by Mike Harrison

Shake it off

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off > and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up > over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up! .

Sent by Mike Harrison