Every Tuesday, step by step, I’m walking with my readers from A to Z, last week we had tagged “R”, so this week we have S – I’m sure you’ll find a story or a short reflection tagged with “S”! Feel free to add in the comments below the link to your personal interpretation of the letter “S”!!! Myself I’ll feature “S” for “the SEARCH”:
photo by frizztext, click on the picture to enter my galleries on flickr.com
The SEARCH
Like the salmon or the “olive ridleys, perhaps you made a gps imprint on your birth day and are being nudged back to that spot…” [Lisa Brunetti]. I always tried to search for the woman who gave birth to me (but immediately put me into an orphanage 1945). It took me 40 years to find her on the isle of Ruegen, East-Germany – whereas I lived in West-Germany near Cologne. When at last I sat at her table in the farm-kitchen she told me, that she lived as a child in Poland, so now I would like to search for my roots in Poland near the Baltic Sea coastline; my mother lived in Cybowo [former Gutsdorf] – I found that via google earth; my mother left Poland 1945 during that bad World War II. Of course there are examples for more glorious searches in mankind: Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo – nevertheless, I’m proud, that my search was not in vain and had an interesting result.
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feedback by Playamart – Zeebra Designs / Lisa Brunetti in Ecuador:
You are so right;; like the olive ridleys, perhaps you made a gps imprint on your birth day and are being nudged back to that spot. i “remember once i flew from washington DC to houston texas and slept most of the way. i awakened and looked out my window just in time to see the mississippi river.. i squinted and wondered what stretch i was seeing… then i spotted a bit more landscape west of the river.. and .. wow.. there’s the farm! there’s the black river! there’s the cotton gin and the grain elevator and —- was it coincidence that i awakened at that precise moment or was my internal gps working overtime? i hope that you find your answers and are reunited with your roots.”
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frizz-reply: I knew you would understand me, Lisa, when I read your blog post about the sea turtles
“…First they learn to crawl; then they learn to swim! They will travel vast distances for a dozen or more years, then magically respond to the mating call and return to their beach of origin….”
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related:
https://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/story-challenge-letter-p/
P.S.:
step by step I enjoyed more and more the comments of my readers. They often inspired me to dive deeper into a topic. The result now is a print edition “Fragments And Feedbacks” – 100 pages, only words, no photos, a “best of” (so far) out of more than 1,200 articles – if you are interested please visit http://www.blurb.com/books: fragments-and-feedbacks
Flickr Comments 
Excellent post FT – we are a nesting beach here on Kiawah for sea turtles and they return year after year. So I will tag this one “s” for Sea Turtles and link to my previous post on the subject https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/wild-weekly-photo-challenge-new-beginnings-cees-fun-foto-challenge/ . Good luck with your quest!
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“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go,
as long as you do not stop.”
unknown turtle philosopher
and expert for perseverance
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🙂
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this was so beautiful that it all but made me cry. yes, you were like a little tortugita, and you found your way back to your gps point of birth. my heart swells that you were able to get closure from a question that has shadowed you most of your life.
how in the world will i ever find a worthy ‘s’ in spanish to match the level you’ve set for us this week?
z
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PS.. that first image of the ship, its sails — that is one stunning image, and seeing that in person must have been a grand moment!
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sailing ships: tomorrow [Wednesday] I’ll write about Gulliver’s Travels and Thursday about Ferdinand Magellan and the Pacific Ocean [it’s already scheduled] – but you are a real adventurer: you made it from the Mississippi to the rivers of Ecuador (I’m only a writer, Lisa…)
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you are so great, and such an intellectual as well as writer/musician and attentive cyber friend. thank you! oh boy, gullivers travels – i will prepare for a splash down in lilliput!
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Pingback: [Photo Journal/ A-Z Photo Challenge] S is for Sea Creatures |
Hi Frizz, this is one of my favorite photos you have here. Just gorgeous.
Here’s my contribution this week: S for Sea Creatures – https://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/tagged-s/
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the link to your article, Myra in Singapore, is
http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/photo-journal-a-z-photo-challenge-s-is-for-sea-creatures/
P.S.:
yesterday we had a report in German TV about social network building as strategy – featuring the university in Singapore …
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and Myra, thank you for the quotation too:
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“You must not lose faith in humanity.
Humanity is like an ocean;
if a few drops of the ocean are dirty,
the ocean does not become dirty.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
P.S.:
optimism is good. Let’s hope that some drops
from the Fukushima nuclear disaster
will not spoil the Pacific Ocean …
[on Thursday I’ll write about the
Pacific Ocean – it’s already scheduled]
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we have some sea aquariums in Germany too –
we like it very much to be there and slow down to meditation …
video
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Beautiful story, Frizztext. I am happy for you. 🙂
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I love you tell such layered stories with only a few words, and always have the perfect picture to illustrate your moment.
Lisa
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Pingback: TAGGED: S FOR STEEL MILLS IN PITTSBURGH | Francine In Retirement
Love your sailing ship. BEAUTIFUL PHOTO! Here is my entry: http://wp.me/p23TG1-2Ds
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
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Hi Francine in Pittsburgh,
in my hometown is an abandoned steel industry too
– you made a wonderful tribute with your article!
greetings from my hometown steel
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I never liked the German steel industry. Thyssen and Krupp have made a lot of war material for the Third Reich and Hitler. It would have been better to focus on German philosophy: Kant, Schopenhauer, Adorno. Instead, cannons were manufactured. In our neighborhood there were a few widows: Their men were dropped into liquid iron. For a while propellers for ships were manufactured. The big trucks at night left our whole house trembling. The stench of sulfur belongs to the unpleasant accompaniment of iron production. And that the wrong people became very rich. At last the furnaces were sold to China. Tens of thousands of people had to come up with a fuller spiritual work.
——————————
Ich habe die deutsche Stahlindustrie nie gemocht. Thyssen & Krupp haben unter Hitler eine Menge Kriegsmaterial hergestellt. Man hätte sich besser um deutsche Philosophie gekümmert: Kant, Schopenhauer, Adorno. Stattdessen wurden Kanonen fabriziert. In unserer Nachbarschaft gab es ein paar Witwen: Ihre Männer waren ins flüssige Eisen gefallen. Eine zeitlang wurden Schiffsschrauben hergestellt. Die Schwertransporter nachts ließen unser ganzes Haus erzittern. Der Gestank von Schwefel gehört zur unangenehmen Begleitung der Eisenproduktion. Und dass die falschen Leute sehr reich werden. Irgendwann wurden die Hochöfen nach China verkauft. Zigtausende Menschen mussten sich eine geistvollere Arbeit einfallen lassen.
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Pingback: Spinifex, Sand and Mt Sondor | dadirridreaming
You’re a good story-teller FrizzT. This is a beautiful story of your search for your mother and that you actually sat at her kitchen table! ((sigh))
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you wrote in your blog: “…unfortunately there’s a serious fire burning just north of the city…” frizz: take care of you – I hope, God will send some helping angels!
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Thank you for your concern…I see your name is Dietmar- may I call you that?
The temp went down to the 60’s and we got the predicted rain on Monday. It rained on and off all day and we had one of the heaviest downpours I’ve ever heard late last night which must have doused the flames.
I heard on the news yesterday evening that “the fire had burned an area as large as Miami, and was 80% contained”
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“It rained on and off all day and we had one of the heaviest downpours I’ve ever heard late last night which must have doused the flames…”
so now that there is no more fire, I hope you do not need Noah’s Ark …
greetings: Dietmar
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That’s a beautiful picture today, Dietmar. I enjoy looking at it. As for searches… I am glad for you, that you did find your mother, though we both know that it is hard to understand the all the motivations and the pressures that people of another generation experienced… sometimes even who they really were at a time before we were alive or had the cognizance to recognize them. Wishing you easy seas, as you continue to search for rationality and peace, my friend.
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thank you for:
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“…Wishing you easy seas,
as you continue to search
for rationality and peace…”
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Shalom Shimon!
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I had a search like you! It took me ten years to find my Nigerian father with only his first name and where he studied 🙂
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to find your Nigerian father
with only his first name
and where he studied
– that’s a story, Gilly!
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That is a stunning image for a memorable post Frizz! Happy for you that your search bore fruition. Good luck with the continued search for your roots in Poland 🙂
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If I had a “Tagged S” post, it will be this picture for the word “Specism” : http://icezine.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/le-mot-du-jour-specisme/
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I like your SIGNS! even cats are forbidden!
more signs …
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This one is very good too for your article : http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7181/6869761133_0ee3ab4c7b.jpg
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the austerity strategies do not find much applause…
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a wonderful post frizz … the search for who we are is so important … here is my S story about walking in the desert in central australia http://dadirridreaming.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/spinifex-sand-and-mt-sondor/
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Mt. SONDOR, Australia travel diary:
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“…but Raymond led us into a
cool oasis for morning tea,
where we relaxed on the
soft sand of a dry creek bed…”
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wonderful!
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What a story, am so glad that you found your mother. Now for more searches – I wish you success in your quest.
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Pingback: Tagged S: Swan Pond | A New Day
I’ve been waiting for this!
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I think a search for roots is a pretty awesome effort.
Well I guess for once my post today by some serendipity fits your challenge – the S word is Sequoia ~
Happy days, Frizz.
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“…this rough-barked
sequoia stump,
sitting in majesty
in its coastal home,
victim of wildfire,
burned down
to its gnarly roots…”
more at
http://musingbymoonlight.com/2013/05/07/the-smell-of-wood-the-scorch-of-fire/
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hi frizz, love the photo of the ships.. i have a strong connection with ships/vessels because hubby works as a seafarer and i’ve already experienced being with him on board, i went to brazil to board his vessel, crossed the atlantic (15day voyage) to reach italy and spain.. the captain even issued me a certificate for crossing the equator.. i’m glad you found your mother and i wondered about how you felt seeing her for the first time.. by the way, i still need to post my tagged R.. i’m late again and of course will be posting my tagged S too.. have an awesome day 🙂
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dear Elizz,
I hope we can read soon a story featuring some impressions you had on ships!
P.S.:
sailing ships: tomorrow [Wednesday] I’ll write about Gulliver’s Travels and Thursday about Ferdinand Magellan and the Pacific Ocean [it’s already scheduled]
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that’s great! Ferdinand Magellan is a part of the history of the Philippines, will be looking forward to your post 🙂
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The grand sailing ship, Frizz! 40 years to find your mother… Thank you for sharing your story!
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thank you, Amy,
for your Siena story!
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Pingback: Signs | The Eclectic Eccentric Shopaholic
that’s a lovely photo.. and a very moving story. i’m really happy for you.
http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/signs/
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“beware of jet blast, props and rotors” –
I could not understand all your signs (and letters) – but this one!
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We are all sailors buffeted by the pitch and yaw of life on ships that pass like dark clouds in the night – our paths sometimes cross without knowing it, or we see the gleam of distant light bobbing on the ocean of our experience and we spend years trying to retrace their wake in waters that can roil and change in a moment – that we find safe harbour with the family we create for ourselves is our only salvation.
I am so glad you were/are able to find the whole thing cathartic… I am still working on mine!
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I have just nominated you for the WordPress Family Award.
You were and continue to be a part of my virtual family, giving me hopes and inspirations for my passion on blogagaini.
What you need to do in acceptance of the “WordPress Family Award”:
Display the award logo on your blog.
Link back to me as the one who nominated you
(http://blogagaini.wordpress.com/about/awards/)
Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family and let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them.
Congratulations!
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Pingback: tagged S … sinking | bob's wife
hi Frizz, your photo is beyond stunning, it is imposing and powerful! even the story you wrote about searching and finding your mother had the same effect on me …
and here is my entry please: http://alwaysbobswife.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/tagged-s-sinking/
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“…Many times in life, when we ground our feelings on things that are wavering, we encounter frustrations and regrets; thus sinking us into the depths of sadness and emptiness. This is a poignant reality, but there is always HOPE…”
I like that you are connected to Christian religion. Maybe you are also interested on my latest post:
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Yes I do !! http://vastlycurious.com/?attachment_id=2240
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S = sports arena …
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Yes I forgot to add the word Stadium and after I posted I didn’t know how to fix it! Thanks Frizz!
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Pingback: no place for sissies in the Wild West | Wondering Rose
Here’s my contribution for this week’s challenge…
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hi Rosie,
“…The Old Santa Susana Stage Road was carved out of the rock face of the hills.
The steepest stretch, “a peril to man and beast,” was known as Devil’s Slide.
* Passengers had to walk down, carrying rocks to help block the wheels
* The horses were blindfolded before they’d go down the pass…”:
———–
you’ve composed a great tribute to that
Santa Susana Stage Road!
greetings: Dietmar
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Pingback: The Letter S | AngelineM's Blog
You share a wonderful story, Frizz. How good it is that you were able to find the beginning answers to your roots. And I’m sure that is just the beginning. I hope your search brings about peace and tranquility in your mind and life. In a very different way, I guess my entry was a search too; I know that Mexico is on my GPS that was installed a long time ago.
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Pingback: SPAM – SPAM – SPAM Thoughts | Inside the Mind of Isadora
Your words always touch us, Frizz. A search of that kind could lead to nowhere, sometimes. I hope it all went well for you with your Mother. There can be occassions when it doesn’t turn out well. It is astonishing to me that though we are born of someone or birth someone there doesn’t necessarily have to be a connection. And so, I speak from my own experience. You do get bloggers to think and to respond even if it is with just a letter.
My entry is about my frustration this week with technolgy. I hope you enjoy.
Isadora http://insidethemindofisadora.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/spam-spam-spam-thoughts/
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hi Isadora,
some weeks ago I caught a virus via twitter and had to change my passwords because someone used my twitter account. Every year I need a new PC because the old one is irreparable down with several viruses. But you can be your own virus: Some years ago I paid 42,97 $ to a company, which sold anti-virus software to me. But I forgot the comma because my cat walked in that moment over my keyboard. So the company got 4297 $$ from me. My bank said, no chance to get the money back after my online banking mistake. I made some phone calls to the company. But they didn’t cancel and did not give the money back. My money escaped from Germany to Belgium, then ran to Ireland… they told, their software would protect me; maybe right, but the company stole 4000 $$!
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Pingback: Tagged S: Siena | The World Is a Book...
Hi Frizz, That is a touching story and long search… I agree with Isadora, your posts always get bloggers to think … Here is mine: http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/tagged-s-siena/
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thank you for S = Siena!
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Pingback: A surrealistic dream… | ilargia64
Hi Frizz….
Your ship is like the ones I used to dream of when I was a child…My uncle always said I was Reading too much and watching too many films…My mom and my father always encouraged me!
So, talking about dreams…
Here is my contribution to your challenge…
Hope you like it!
BTW: terrible your story with the bank!
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with the bank – I have to add an happy end: after six months my eldest daughter, a banker herself, managed to get the money back via a correspondence a boss in Ireland – nice to have such a daughter!
P.S.:
really surprised by your S-version!
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I´m glad you solved it! I do not have any confidence on Banks….
I hope I surprised you for good! 🙂
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Pingback: Story Challenge: Tagged “S” | Across the Bored
It is Spring, so love is in the air – Please have a look at
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“…Two Sweethearts
on a Sunday boat for rent!”
= perfect subtitle for your photo!
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Pingback: S is for Sonrisa! (Smile!) | Zeebra Designs & Destinations
s is for sonrisa – smiles from ecuador!
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hola Lisa B. Zebra,
I found more about sea turtles at
http://miartedoris.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/sea-turtle-release-south-padre-island/
your zeebra comment already there!
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thank you! isn’t doris amazing? she’s such a wonderful person!
i’m glad you visited her post as well!
z
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you made me smile with your tres monkeys:
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tres monos are always fun! you can see how much fun they had at the museum! thanks! z
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so interesting that we all were thinking about the same idea, I do see what you mean about using “search” as a metaphor, very good so creative, the photo is just amazing, love the texture of the photo
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Pingback: tagged T | Flickr Comments
Pingback: tagged T | Flickr Comments
hi frizz, here’s my tagged S.. http://starlight427.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/tagged-s-swarovski-crystals/
a bit late again..
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Pingback: Wild Weekly Photo Challenge: Hiking / Soul Searching | Creativity Aroused
Very insightful, Frizz:
a “gps imprint on your birthday”
I’m glad you don’t have deadlines on these challenges. Here is my entry:
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Pingback: [Photo Journal/ A-Z Photo Challenge] S is for Sea Creatures | Gathering Books