Kent State: “Four Dead in Ohio”

(This post was orininally published in another blog I manage, SeeBee Sez.  I’m  repeating this quote today, the 45th anniversary of the shootings at Kent State. There have been shootings on campuses since then — too many of them, unfortunately.  The difference here is that representatives of the State — in this case, the State of Ohio, not other students or mentally unstable private citizens — fired on unarmed students.  This should be a cautionary tale for our nation. We should never forget the lessons of Kent State. The original SeeBee Sez post from 2011 follows. You can find more info about SeeBee Sez here.)

On this date in 1970, four Kent State University students were fired on and killed by Ohio National Guardsmen during an antiwar demonstration.  Twenty years after the event, a May 4th memorial was built at Kent State.  The words “Inquire. Learn. Reflect.” are inscribed at the threshold to the memorial.

Neil Young wrote the song “Ohio” after reading about the shootings.

For more about the events at Kent State, check here.

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Incredible Trompe-l’œil Flood Wall Murals

A couple of weekends ag0 my husband, my brother and his girlfriend, and I traveled to Portsmouth, Ohio.  Our main purpose for visiting that part of Ohio was to go to Serpent Mound the next day; but that’s a separate blog post.

Having visited Portsmouth last year with my husband, I knew that my brother and his girlfriend would enjoy the incredible murals on the flood wall in Portsmouth along the Ohio River.

The murals are on the city side of sixty 20-foot-high panels. See a portion of them below:

Portion of Portsmouth Flood Wall Mural

A couple of the murals caught my eye.  Of particular interest was the trompe-l’œil cat shown here:

Think this is 3-dimensional? Think again.

It sure looks 3-dimensional; but really, it’s not. The “step,” the door, even “Woodrow’s” food dish only appear to be 3-D.  And poor Woodrow? He’s flat as a coat of paint. (See below.)

See? I’m 2-D.

Many of the murals are realistic depictions of scenes in Portsmouth from one era or another.

Another notable mural panel was a view of Portsmouth from the perspective of someone on the opposite bank in Kentucky.

Here’s looking at you, Portsmouth!

It looks like a photograph.  Even looking at it from across the street, as we did, it looks remarkably realistic.

If you’re ever near south-central Ohio,  make a trip to Portsmouth and check out the murals.  You’ll be glad you did.