{"id":1605,"date":"2019-01-15T08:12:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T21:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/?p=1605"},"modified":"2019-01-15T08:12:21","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T21:12:21","slug":"15th-january-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/15th-january-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Diane&#8217;s Newsletter 15th January 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a id=\"one\"><\/a><br \/>\n<center><span style=\"font-size: 250%; color: #051c73;\"><b>Very Small Towns<\/b><\/span><\/center><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/buford.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"317\" height=\"240\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1609\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/buford.png 317w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/buford-300x227.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 317px) 100vw, 317px\" \/>What I discovered when I started checking small towns was that one of the world&#8217;s smallest towns was, until recently, <b>Buford<\/b>, Wyoming, USA. Almost 2,500 metres above sea level, Buford had a population of ONE (believe it or not). The town was founded in the mid-nineteenth century and was originally home to a couple of thousand people, mainly railway workers. By the time Don Sammons moved to the town in the 1980s and took over the general store\/petrol station Buford&#8217;s population had already decreased markedly, but Sammons did a good business with people coming in from outlying areas. Sammons&#8217; wife passed away in the 1990s and his son moved on in 2007, causing the population to drop to one: Don Sammons. Then, in 2011, Sammons also left. Sadly, the shop and the petrol station are now boarded up, and, as far as I know, no one lives there any longer.<\/p>\n<p>Another one-man town is <b>Cass<\/b> on the South Island of New Zealand, north-west of Christchurch. It used to be a terminus for the Midland Line, but though there are five houses in the town there is now only <b>one<\/b> resident. Barrie Drummond has lived there for more than twenty-five years and he has no plans to leave. It would be a great place if you wanted to be on your own. . .<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1610\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1610\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/cass-railway-station.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/cass-railway-station.jpg 800w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/cass-railway-station-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/cass-railway-station-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/cass-railway-station-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1610\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">eneme.wordpress.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p>After an earthquake and a tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011, the entire area was evacuated, including the town of <b>Tomioka<\/b>. Tomioka was once home to thousands of people, but now there is only one inhabitant, Naoto Matsumura. Matsumura fled the town with everyone else, but he later returned as he felt that someone needed to be there to look after the land and the animals. He lives completely on his own without electricity and without running water.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1614\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1614\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/naoto-matsumura.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/naoto-matsumura.jpg 800w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/naoto-matsumura-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/naoto-matsumura-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/naoto-matsumura-404x270.jpg 404w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/naoto-matsumura-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">TwistedSifter<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<a id=\"ett\"><\/a><br \/>\n<center><span style=\"font-size: 250%; color: #ff0000;\"><b>ONE<\/b><\/span><\/center><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<b>ONE &nbsp;&nbsp;UN &nbsp;&nbsp;EN &nbsp;&nbsp;EINS &nbsp;&nbsp;ETT &nbsp;&nbsp;UNUS &nbsp;&nbsp;YKSI &nbsp;&nbsp;MOJA &nbsp;&nbsp;WAHED &nbsp;&nbsp;VIENU &nbsp;&nbsp;ENAS &nbsp;&nbsp;EKA &nbsp;&nbsp;UNU<\/b><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nJanuary is, of course, the first month, so it probably makes sense to write something about <b>ONE<\/b>. <\/p>\n<p>Where do our thoughts go when we see or hear the word one? <\/p>\n<p>Perhaps we think about the number itself, beginnings, the first person in line, something or someone standing apart, individualism, self-sufficiency, leadership qualities, type-one diabetes, Formula One racing, bravery or even one person against the many. Our thoughts may even touch on words such as <i>unique, solitary<\/i> or <i>alone<\/i>. Or, if we are a visual person, our mind might fill with the colour <span style=\"font-size: 150%; color: #ff0000;\"><b>red<\/b><\/span> &#8211; a dominant, independent colour and one that is associated with the number 1.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1619\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1619\" style=\"width: 1400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/One-Comet.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"788\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/One-Comet.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/One-Comet-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/One-Comet-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/One-Comet-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/One-Comet-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1619\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One Comet (JPL-NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nThe form of the number 1 could hardly be simpler, so we may think about clean lines and uncluttered shapes.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/one.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"176\" height=\"287\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/one.png 176w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/one-166x270.png 166w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 176px) 100vw, 176px\" \/><br \/>\nOn the other hand, we may call to mind titles of books that use the word <b>One<\/b>:<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<i>One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich<br \/>\nA Room of One&#8217;s Own<br \/>\nOne Flew over the Cuckoo&#8217;s Nest<br \/>\nThe Power of One<br \/>\nOne Hundred Years of Solitude<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Or we might think of China&#8217;s one-child policy, solitary around-the-world sailors, our number one priority, or, if we are a bit on the pessimistic side, our thoughts might dwell on the images thrown up by <i>one chance<\/i>, <i>one opportunity<\/i> or even <i>one life<\/i>.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Sailing-ship.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Sailing-ship.jpeg 275w, https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Sailing-ship-272x182.jpeg 272w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><br \/>\nWhatever we think when we see or hear the word one, I hope that January, the first month of the year, will prove to be an exciting beginning to a wonderful year for all of you.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Never lend books, for no one ever returns them: the only books I have in my library are books that other folk have lent me.<br \/>\nAnatole France<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diane.eklund.abolins.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}