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The location is Actlyon, an Outer Rim planet - more specifically, the so-called entertainment district of Actlyon City. Well, 'entertainment district' is a generous term. In fact, it is neither entertaining nor big enough to qualify as a district. It’s simply a cluster of rundown cantinas, filthy gambling dens and clubs, wedged into few blocks in the lower levels of the city. Deathstick dealers linger at every corner and thugs harass the passers-by.
It is here, amidst all this dirt, noise, and niff, that the Flame of Zhar maintains one of its safehouses. Located in the backrooms of the famous Club 21 and with bouncers, dancers and barkeepers on the Flame's payroll, the safehouse provides security for clients who need to disappear and couriers delivering messages or transporting contraband. It also serves as an entry point to the FoZ-controlled space, travelling from Actlyon via the Lipsec Run trade route to Isde Naha and further down to Burnin Konn, Mataou and the like.
Next to the club travelers find a shabby love hotel, its holo sign promising 'rest' to everyone who has nowhere else to go. For a standard hour or two, anyone with a few credits can rent a room. Some guests come hoping to meet a floozy or a gigolo, others simply want a massage from one of Twi'lek masseuses. Whatever their reasons, the hotel thrives on the constant flow of drifters, smugglers and wanderers who pass through Actlyon’s underbelly.
[Built for the Factions RPG]
*It felt wrong, locking them up, but Simon didn't have any other choice. He was sure if he let them go, they'd kill him. Or, he'd have to kill them, and he couldn't live with himself if it came to that*
Thawne- -name is Chronos.
Simon- Huh?
Thawne- *sigh* The time traveller on Pike's payroll. I should have known.
Simon- Who... who is he?
Thawne- A long time Atom foe, went off the grid a few years ago. Palmer, that is the Atom, damaged his time belt, stranding him in the void. A space outside of time, when a timeline has been overwritten. Spent a millennia there before he managed to break out, and when he did... he was different. Picked up some temporal abilities, clairvoyance, the usual. Made him even more annoying
Simon- This Chronos guy, why would he help Pike?
Thawne- Why would you?
Simon- What?
Thawne- She's still breathing. It would have been one less thing to worry about, now wouldn't it?
Simon- I'm not you.
Thawne- And they're not them. Stop treating them as such.
Simon- *They* are my family.
Thawne- Touching. But wrong
*No. Thawne was wrong, he was a trickster, a liar and a monster thought Simon. He had to get through to her. He knew if he got through to her, then the world was fixable. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he just knew.
While he waited for her to wake up, he was working on a new costume. Old costume? It would be the same style he wore up to the City of Fear incident. Very classic. Bright pink and yellow, trunks, eyes instead of a visor. It was his most “heroic” look, even if he preferred his current suit for a myriad of reasons. He was hoping he’d finish before she awoke, but alas he heard her struggle against her bonds behind him as he worked, and he managed to turn around and face what he’d done only when he heard the chair fall over.
He walked over and gingerly righted her. She spat at him.*
Emi- Get me out of here. Now.
*He closed his eyes, took a deep breath.*
Simon- Emi-
Emi- Go on then, how do you know my name?
Simon- We're... Emi, this is going to sound crazy, but... Emi, you and I... We... we're boyfriend and girlfriend. In an alternate timeline.
*Suddenly Emi laughs, loud, harsh, a sound Simon had never heard from her, not like this. It was a cruel laugh, sarcastic*
Emi- I’m not buying it. You think I’m stupid enough to go out with you? In this, or any time!
*He sighed, and returned to his work station. He’d been in a lot of crazy scenarios before. But altered timelines? That was new. He had thought himself immune to that all-encompassing phobia, the fear of change. He had thought wrong. Maybe, when he fixed everything, he’d visit Arkham and ask Doctor Crane about that... Or Professor Strange? Maybe there was a psychiatrist somewhere in Gotham who wasn't insane...*
Emi- Look, freak, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Green Arrow’ll be here any minute and ohhhhhh man we are going to have some fun with you.
Thawne- You’re referring to your tracking device? The one you hid in the heel of your boot? First thing the kid did was destroy it. Waste of parts, if you ask me...
Simon- Could you-?
Thawne- Sorry, should I leave you "love birds" alone?
Emi- Ok, so maybe you do know my secrets. What good’s that gonna do ya? Do you even have a plan, or am I just gonna die of old age?
Thawne- I have a plan. No idea what the kid's is though.
Simon- Really?
Thawne- I'm going.
Simon- Sorry, he's... it's complicated
Emi- Seems like a recurring problem
Simon- Well, I ...am working on a plan. You’re not actually part of it - yet! If you’d like to help me, that’d be great, but for now, I just wanted to have someone to talk to. Not him, I can't... You, I wanted you to talk to. Or I’ll just listen to you. Even when you’re being mean, I can't not love you.
*He was pretty sure Thawne put his palm to his forehead at that point. Admittedly, it wasn't Simon's best line*
Emi- Oh. My God, you are by far the most naïve supervillain I’ve ever dealt with. How the hell are you one of the best enforcers of Gotham’s underworld.
Simon- That's what I'm saying, I’m not.
*He had finally got the antennae on, those were always the trickiest, and thus the costume was complete. He stepped out of the room to change, then leapt back in with a dramatic “Ta-da!”
Upon which Emiko burst out laughing, again.*
Simon- You don’t like it? You always liked it before...
Emi- AhahahahohmyGod. Oh my God. That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.
*Simon looked down, dejected, then pulled a chair over, in front of Emiko. He sat down, removed his mask, and looked at her.*
Emi- What do you think you’re doing?
Simon- -I need to know that...that you’re my Emi. Maybe I’m wrong and I can’t fix everything. But Jay, Jay always told me you-you get the lightning rod and that keeps you grounded and so if I can-can get through to you I’ll be able to fix everything.
*The words were hard to get out. The idea that maybe he couldn’t fix everything, that maybe he couldn’t get her back. It killed him.*
Emi Get me. The fuck. Out of this cell. You stupid. Piece of shit.
*He dropped his mask on the floor, put his head in his hands, and started to weep. He would still try and find a solution, but he wasn’t going to get through to her now, was he?*
Emi- Oh my God, you’re crying? Over some mean wittle words? Geez, what’ll you do when I throw you in Arkham?
*In that moment, he bolted up from the chair*
Simon- Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!
*He had never yelled with that much anger...ever. And certainly not at her. He saw the brief flash of fear in her eyes, even as she hid it. What did he look like to her, he wondered. Was that that other him, breaking through, or was he always like this? Was this what was always beneath the surface? No wonder Charaxes wanted him...
He reached back for the chair, tried to sit down, instead he just fell down on the ground. He lay back fully, put his hands over his eyes and began to laugh. The laugh became a scream and then, silence. He stood himself up, picked up his mask, looked at her one last time, for now he tried to tell himself, then he put on his mask and left the room*
Thawne- *Sigh* Young love...
*Simon wanted to hit him so badly, if only he had speed... Then he could kill him, like he killed him, over and over and over. But then he realised that it simply wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth it. Right now Thawne was his only hope. Emi wasn't going to help him. And so, he slumped out of that room too, ignoring his companion's mocking "tutting," defeated to be met with his father's face. Kinda.
It was peculiar. His mask bore a striking resemblance to the Arkham Moth's; both were green, both had dark rebreathers, and both had yellow, tinted visors Simon was sure hid an inner pain. Perhaps that was how, if not to Emi, he could appeal to his dad. Perhaps*
Drury- Went well, did it?
Simon- What was in the vial?
Drury- It doesn't matter, does it?
Simon- It matters to me.
Drury- *You* don't matter. If you don't mind, I'd rather await my impending doom, then listen to you right now.
...
Simon- I know about your friends. Gar, and Mira-
Drury- Don't you speak their names. Don't you dare. What, did you think we're equal or something, you think we can talk now because you know my tragic backstory? The friends that I've lost-! ... Who told you anyway, your pal Carson?
...
Simon- I'm... I'm sorry.
Drury- Hnh. I don't care.
...
Simon- Carson's not my friend or anything. In case you thought-
Drury- Hmph.
Simon- He blew me up once.
Drury- You look pretty good considering.
Simon- What happened Drury. What really happened?
...
Drury- I was drunk. Gar was drunk. Miranda was- We were all drunk, we were on our way back from a play, Les Miserables- yeah, don't look surprised, I'm a theatre buff. The radio was glitching in and out... thought it was a horror channel, turns out, it wasn't.
Simon- The Blackest Night.
Drury- I wasn't watching the road, in-between arguments with Gar, and trying to switch off the radio, I swerved, careered off of a cliff. I got off alright, but them? Miranda had fallen, she wasn't going to make it. And what about Gar, eh? Well. Heh.
*He takes his mask off, his face shadowed. He wipes a single tear from his eye, and continues*
Drury- He hadn't got out the car, don't know if he even coulda, heck by that point it was on fire, blazing even. But he wouldn't move. He just... sat there, seatbelt still buckled- burning, entranced by the flames. I tried pulling him out, I really did, but it was too late.
I shoulda watched the road, yet I- I killed them. And then, then they came back. Black, grey, dead, like the rest of those so called 'Black Lanterns'....
*Drury takes a step forward, Simon a step back, he knew it was coming but there it was. His dad's face. Scarred, burned all on one side, not unlike Two-Face's, one eye dead, the other filled with regret. Never before had Simon felt so much... pity for his father*
Drury- I watched them die, then I watched them be perverted, transformed into zombies by some necromancer, and they spoke to me. Mocked me. Blamed me. And y'know, they were right. Was that what you wanted to hear?
...
Drury- I've answered your questions, suppose it's my turn. Who, are you?
...
Simon- My name is Simon. Simon... King.
Drury- Simon. I always liked that name...
Simon- You ever considered naming Ax- your son that?
Drury- My son-? I... I put my kids into foster care. They deserve better than I could give them. Axel, and Kitte- Katie. Heh.
...
Simon- I didn't grow up with my father, but... I idolised him. I still felt like I knew him. Every news report, every article, I watched it all. My dad was one of the "greats"... Two years ago, I finally met him. He wasn't that legend. In fact, he was better than I could imagine.
Drury- Why's that?
Simon- He was kind. He was good. Yeah, he did bad crap, yeah he hurt people, but he always did it for his family, and for his friends. He was there for them. Like you should be for your kids.
Drury- I don't deserve them.
Simon- They deserve a father, don't they?
...
Drury- Your old man, what happened to him?
...
Simon- I lost him.
====
*It was for the best, he knew that. But it hurt all the same, like a bullet in his chest. Granted, he did have a bullet in his chest, so that might just be that that stung, but he doubted it. He had spent a good minute staring at that keypad, going back and forth on it, before finally, he put in the code he'd set. It was her birthday*
Simon- You're... you're free to go.
Emi- This is a trick, right?
Simon- No. Please.
*Emi stared at him, and the pain returned- having her look at him like he was nothing was worse than any wound, that was now a certainty. She climbed out the window, and then, she was gone. Simon walked quietly back to the main cortex*
Thawne- Did you do it?
*Simon doesn't say anything. Thawne smiles, and nods*
Thawne- Good boy. This, is our key to getting out of this mess.
*Thawne picks the courier up from the workbench. It's heavily modified*
Thawne- This is a hypertime tracker. Alone, it's useless, but combined with DNA, it can track that person's movements across time, to the last place they travelled.
Simon- Then, it's nearly over...
Thawne- Aside from your daddy issues, the Fireflies and Bane, yes. Yes it'll be over, but first, we need Chronos.
--------
Credit to Brute, who wrote the framework of the Simon/Emi conversation back when this story was just a concept. It's been heavily adapted since, as new characters and plot lines were introduced
On hire to Virgin Trains East Coast , EMT HST power car 43061 brings up the rear to 43059 as they leave Doncaster working the 1D13 Kings Cross - Leeds.
11 9 16
The payroll man knows he is being followed, but what he didn't expect is the man waiting in the left corner. A few second after I turn my back. a crime has been committed. I shot this in the small bridge in Chinatown Manila using a Ricoh GRD4.
Philadelphia, PA, est. 1682; pop. 1,567,442 (metro 6MM)
• built in 1740 • earliest known photograph is dated 1859 — bldg. was then 119 yrs. old [photo] • Georgian-Colonial trinity aka "bandbox" design • typically, trinity houses had 1 room per floor & were built facing each other in rows of 4 identical bldgs. • in addition to the room on each floor, this house had a walkable attic room & a cellar
• served as both business & residence for shopkeepers & artisans for over 150 yrs. • among the occupants in the 18th c. were a shoemaker, apothecary & an upholsterer named Betsy Ross, who is said to have sewn the first American flag in this building • estimates of when & how long she lived here have her arriving in 1773 at the earliest & departing as late as 1791
• over time the house changed in appearance [photos] as neighborhood houses were razed & replaced w/larger commercial buildings —Where's Betsy
Betsy Ross
• Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom (1752-1836) was a fourth-generation American • daughter of Samuel Griscom (1717-1793) & Rebecca James (c. 1730-1793) • the 8th of their 17 children • great granddaughter of Andrew Griscom (c. 1654-1694), a Quaker carpenter who migrated from England to New Jersey in 1680, 1 yr. before William Penn founded Philadelphia
"She often laughed at the curious fact that she was born on the first day of the week, the first day of the month, the first day of the year, and the first year of the 'new style' [which was] the dividing line between the old way of measuring the years time and the new method under the [Gregorian calendar… She was also] the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter." —C.B. Satterthwaite, great grandson, The Des Moines Register, 07 Jan, 1906
• at age 3 Betsy's family moved to a large home at 4th & Arch Sts. • went to a Friends (Quaker) public school • 8 of her siblings died before adulthood • lost her mother, father & sister, Deborah, to the 1793 yellow fever epidemic
• upon completion of her schooling at age 12, her father apprenticed her to upholsterer John Webster • fell in love with fellow apprentice John Ross (1752-1773), son of an Episcopal asst. rector at Christ Church • defying her parents, in 1773 Betsy, age 21, eloped w/John
• Betsy's sister Sarah & her husband Capt. Wm. Donaldson rowed the couple across the Delaware River, heading 5 miles downstream to Gloucestertown, NJ • they were married at family friend William Hugg Jr.'s tavern & inn, known locally as Hugg's …more: The New Jersey Hugg Line
• because her marriage to a non-Quaker was considered an act of "disorderly and undutiful conduct," Betsy was split from her family & read out of meeting, i.e., disowned by her Quaker community • became a member of Christ Church • the Ross's pew No. 12 [photo] was adjacent to Martha & George Washington's No. 56 & not far from Deborah & Benjamin Franklin's No. 70
• the newlyweds — now trained upholsterers — opened their own business • c. 1773 they rented a house, probably at what is today 239 Arch St. although the exact site is still debated by historians • most records point to this house or one next door at No. 241, long since razed
"The identity of the location was always preserved in the family, which agrees with the records in the old Philadelphia directories… from 1785, the first published, to the removal of Betsy Ross and her husband from 239 Arch Street, in 1791" —Betsy Ross grandson George Canby, New York Times, 05 July, 1908
• Benjamin Franklin & Benjamin Chew were among the Rosses' customers • business slowed during the Revolutionary War as fabric was in short supply • John Ross joined the Pennsylvania militia • mid-Jan., 1776, he was gravely wounded by a powder explosion at a Delaware River ammunition cache, apparently while standing guard • Betsy nursed him in their home, but he died within days
• in June, 1777, Betsy married girlhood suitor Joseph Ashburn, a privateer who commanded the sailing sloop Swallow • the couple had 2 daughters • the 1st, Aucilla ("Zillah"), died in infancy
• British troops entered Philadelphia on 26 Sep., 1777 after their victory at the Battle of Brandywine • the Ashburn home was forcibly shared with British occupation soldiers as the Continental Army suffered through the killing winter at Valley Forge • the British soldiers nicknamed Betsy "Little Rebel" —US History•org
• Betsy was pregnant with Elizabeth ("Eliza") when Joseph accepted a job offer & shipped out as first mate on the 6-gun brigantine, Patty • returned to be present for the Feb., 1781 birth of their 2nd daughter
• Joseph became master of the 18-gun Lion & took her to sea late in the summer of 1781 • on 31 Aug., his ship was captured off the coast of France by a 44-gun British frigate, the HMS Prudente
• prior to March, 1782, the British refused to designate captured rebels as prisoners of war, thus the captives from the Lion were viewed as traitors, charged with high treason & committed to Plymouth, England's Mill Prison [images] • while incarcerated, Ashburn met fellow prisoner John Claypoole, a longtime friend of the Ross family
• Claypoole, a Continental Army vet, had been wounded at Germantown & consequently discharged • in 1781 he signed on to man the 18-gun Pennsylvania privateer Chevalier de la Luzerne & was captured in April • in the spring of 1782 Ashburn died in prison, leaving Betsy a 2-time war widow at age 30 —Betsy Ross and the Making of America
"In the Night of the 3d of March Mr Joseph Ashburn departed this life after an illness of about a week which he bore with amazing fortitude & resignation" —John Claypoole, Mill Prison
"The story goes that Ashburn, while in Mill Prison, often talked with John Claypoole about his wife, Betty*, and at his death sent farewell messages by him to her. Claypoole, on his arrival in Philadelphia, hastened to deliver these messages, and inside of eight months he married her." —John Claypoole's Memorandum-Book *Betsy is referred to as "Betty" in some 18th, 19th & early 20th c. books & media
• in 1782 Claypoole returned to Philadelphia, called on Betsy & married her the following year • gave up his seafaring career to join her at the Arch St. upholstery shop • though renamed "John Claypoole, upholsterer," to customers the shop remained Betsy's place • the couple had 5 daughters: Clarissa, Susanna, Rachel, Jane & Harriet, who died at 9 months • sometime after Susanna's birth in 1786, the Claypooles moved from Arch St. to a larger house on 2nd
• Betsy returned to her Quaker roots, albeit with the Free (Fighting) Quakers, a group exiled from the main Quaker community when their support for the Revolution was ruled a violation of the faith's peace testimony • the couple became members c. 1785 • image: Betsy Claypoole signature taken from the Meeting House roster
• it is widely believed that when the Free Quaker Meeting House shut down in 1834, it was its last attending members — Elizabeth Claypoole & Samuel Wetherill — who closed the doors
• in 1817, after a long illness, John Claypoole died • Betsy never remarried • after retiring, she moved to the home of her daughter, Susanna • she died on 30 Jan, 1836, age 84
The American Flags
"Flags were a rare sight on land in the British North American colonies," —Wooden Teachout, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism
• American flags were seldom used in parades or displayed by private citizens • colors were flown mainly in battle, over government institutions & on ships, where they were essential to identifying other vessels & determining friend or foe
• this changed after America's 1876 Centennial Exposition, which explains why "flags made prior to the Civil War are extremely rare, and flags made before 1820 are practically nonexistent." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, Stars and Stripes, Early American Life, Aug. 2011
• with the onset of the Revolutionary War, a flag for the "United Colonies" was created without the sanction of the Continental Congress • this 1775 flag was known as the Continental Colors, aka Grand Union, Congress Flag, Cambridge Flag
• on 2 Dec., 1775, the 1st Continental Colors flag was hand sewn by milliner Margaret Manny, who had begun making flags & ensigns the previous year
"Everyone knows about Betsy Ross, why do we know nothing about Margaret Manny? Probably for no better reason than that she had fewer articulate friends and relatives to build a story around her." —historian Barbara Tuchman, The First Salute
• the Continental Colors had 13 alternating red & white stripes with the British Union crosses in the canton • was created to replace the use of individual colony flags • prior to the Declaration of Independence, it was probably the most used unofficial flag of the revolution • American Flag Timeline
• the inclusion of the British Jack in the design signals that this flag was intended not for a civil war of secession, but rather a crusade to secure the American colonists' rights as Englishman • prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Gen. George Washington, still hoping for reconciliation with Mother England, would occasionally toast the King —The Forgotten Flag of the American Revolution and What It Means
• on 3 Dec, 1775, the new flag was raised by 1st Lt. John Paul Jones (1747-1792) on the 30-gun Continental Navy frigate USS Alfred [painting], the 1st national ensign to fly on an American fighting vessel —Naval History Blog
• the flag later flew over the signing of the Declaration of Independence & according to tradition (contested by some scholars), it was raised on a ship's mast atop Charlestown's Prospect Hill [painting] during Washington's 1 Jan., 1776 siege of Boston
• spotting the hybrid British/American flag for the first time, confused British observers took it as a signal of submission: “By this time, I presume, they begin to think it strange that we have not made a formal surrender of our lines,” Washington wrote • his psychological weaponry also included an early form of war propaganda
• absent a single government-mandated flag design, a variety of others were used • within a yr. after Prospect hill, the Continental Colors' Union Jack was replaced by a blue field w/13 white stars in various arrangements, e.g., rows, or possibly a circle?
• on 14 June, 1777, now celebrated as Flag Day, the American Flag was born by resolution of the Continental Congress, the country’s 1st flag law • during the Revolutionary period that followed, the stars on most American flags were arranged in rows of 4-5-4 with the number of points on most stars ranging from 4 to 8 • compared to the Continental Colors, the rows of stars made it easier to identify the flag/ship/nationality at sea —The 13 Stars & Stripes
The Story
• about a year before the Flag Resolution of 1777 Betsy Ross, 5-months a widow & struggling to make a ends meet, is said to have received a visit from a Continental Congress flag committee (apparently a secret one as there are no records of its existence)
• according to the well known Betsy Ross story, in late May of 1776 (but possibly 1777) 3 heroes of the revolution — George Ross, the uncle of Betsy's late husband, financier/slave trader Robert Morris & Betsy's pew neighbor Gen. George Washington [portraits] — called on her to discuss a flag for the new nation
• Rachel Fletcher (Betsy's daughter) recalled that "…she was previously well acquainted with Washington, and that he had often been in her house in friendly visits, as well as on business. That she had embroidered ruffles for his shirt bosoms and cuffs, and that it was partly owing to his friendship for her that she was chosen to make the flag." —Rachel's affidavit
• as told by Betsy, Gen. Washington, then head of the Continental Army, showed her a rough design of a flag with 6-pointed stars • she offered suggestions for modifications & stated a preference for 5-pointed stars • when her visitors expressed concern over the difficulty of producing them, she replied, "Nothing easier," which she then proved by cutting a 5-pointed star in a single snip • video: Make a perfect star with ONE cut! (1:15) • Two Conundrums Concerning the Betsy Ross Five-Pointed Star
• changes approved, Washington redrew the flag w/a pencil • Betsy's friend & collaborator William Barrett, a Cherry St. ornamental painter created a water color copy of the drawing for her to work from • 1-2 other seamstresses sewed alternate designs for the committee, but only Betsy's was approved & used
• what is known today as the "Betsy Ross flag" has 13 red & white stripes & a ring of 13, white 5-pointed stars • though the design may have been in use by 1777, vexillologists believe that between 1777-1795, (the yrs. the official flag had 13 stars) most flags displayed stars in rows, which are easier to produce than a circle
• None of the surviving flags from the 18th century exhibit the Betsy Ross pattern • however a few examples are depicted in the art of the era (although period art is notoriously unreliable for flag research)
• the flag depicted in Chas. Willson Peale's 1779 George Washington at the Battle of Princeton is generally considered credible & "may be the only evidence in a painting… that suggests that a circle-pattern flag may have existed in colonial times… Otherwise, you won't see an American flag with a perfect circle of stars made before the 1890s." —Jeff R. Bridgeman, loc. cit.13 Stars in the Betsy Ross Pattern • historically significant the American flags [images]
• though known as an upholsterer, there is no doubt that Betsy made flags, having sewn pennants & ensigns for the Pennsylvania State Navy Board (as did Margaret Manning & Rebecca Young, whose daughter Mary Pickersgill would go on to sew the enormous flag that inspired the U.S. National Anthem, Francis Scott Key's The Star-Spangled Banner)
• a month before Congress passed the Flag Resolution, Betsy was paid 14 pounds, 12 shillings, 2 pence (~$2,300 in 2017 USD) for what must have been a prodigious quantity of Pennsylvania Navy flags • there is no hard evidence that any of these were American flags • "...today we are reasonably convinced that Betsy’s flag was a naval flag, with a simple ‘in line’ arrangement of the stars…" —John B. Harker, Historian & Betsy Ross descendent
• Betsy (Elizabeth Claypool) was now in the business of producing flags & ensigns for the federal govt. • throughout the Jefferson & Madison admins. the skilled needlewoman made flags as large as 18' x 24' for American military installations, with demand peaking during the War of 1812
• for the rest of her life she — in her words — "never knew what it was to want employment" • her oldest daughter, Clarissa Sidney Wilson (1785-1864) [portrait], succeeded her, supplying arsenals, navy yards & the mercantile marine with flags for years —Betsy Ross•org
"In the last years of her life, Ross was neither more nor less important than other aging women who had lived through the Revolution. That she became famous while others were forgotten exposes the interlocking power of family history, local memory, and national politics." —How Betsy Ross Became Famous by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian
The Legend
"…at a time of great historic import such as that time when the Declaration was signed, people have no leisure to think about the minor events which are taking place. Thus, during the revolution no one thought of Betsy Ross as a national heroine, and it was not, in fact until 1870 that William J. Canby (1825-1890) first brought the story of how the first flag was made into general prominence." —Dr. Lloyd Balderston, great-grandson of Betsy Ross, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3 Jul, 1908
• there is no record of the the Betsy Ross story prior to 1870 • that year — 34 years after her death — Betsy's 45 yr. old grandson, a title processor named William Jackson Canby, presented a paper titled The History of the Flag of the United States to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania • the document, accompanied by sworn affidavits, was an oral history passed on by descendants of Betsy Ross, including Canby himself who was 11 yrs. old when she died • …more: The Evolution of the American Flag by (Betsy Ross descendants) George Canby (1829-1907), Lloyd Balderston, Ph.D (1863-1933)
• the story was largely ignored until it was mentioned in historian George Henry Preble's 1872 book Our Flag & appeared in the July, 1873 Harper's Monthly [illustration] • with Civil War wounds slowly healing & the 1876 centennial celebration fast approaching, Betsy Ross & the flag entered American consciousness • in the 1880's her story began to appear in textbooks • by the mid 1890s it was often illustrated by an engraving of The Birth of Our Nation’s Flag, an 1893 painting by Charles H. Weisgerber (1856-1932)
• oral tradition has it that in 1892 Weisgerber, a 36 yr. old aspiring artist, was bent on winning a forthcoming art competition • walking along Arch St., he noticed a plaque at No. 239 which identified the bldg. as the site where Betsy Ross sewed the 1st American flag
• inspired, Weisgerber envisioned a scene of Betsy & the 1st flag set in her shop • to fill in details of the story, characters & setting, he drew on period portraits, the testimony of living descendants & the 22 yr. old Canby paper
• with no authentic image of Betsy in existence (according to her relatives), Weisgerber painted a composite taken from images of 4 of her daughters & a granddaughter who was said to closely resemble her • the resulting portrait was critiqued by relatives who had known her & modified accordingly • Weisgerber then created a massive 9' x 12' painting • portrayed the young Widow Ross, saintly matriarch of a new nation, as she presents the 1st American flag to 3 revered American patriarchs
• "the image was [said] …by Mrs. Ross' grandson, George Canby, to be the only correct likeness of [her]" — he was 7 yrs. old when Betsy Ross died —The Times (Philadelphia) 15 Jun 1893
• the flag depicted in the painting — with no evidence to support the authenticity of its design — has since been known as the "Betsy Ross flag," the standard for celebrating the U.S.A.'s birthday each 4th of July
The Apotheosis
• Weisgerber's painting won the $1,000 prize & in 1893 was showcased in the Pennsylvania Building at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition • seen by millions of visitors • contributed to the nascent reverence for Betsy Ross & the flag as sacred symbols of the emerging, quasi-religious American civil religion • politicians, patriotic societies & public sentiment propelled the flag's transformation into an object of veneration, its role expanding well beyond the customary military & govt. functions
On Flag Day, 1894, the Colonial Dames gathered 500 schoolchildren to honor “the adoption by Congress . . . of the flag made by Betsy Ross from the design submitted to her by Gen. Washington” • by 1895, 10 states had laws requiring public schools to display the flag on all school days — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, loc. cit.
• in 1897 the City of New York bought thousands of lithographs of Weisgerber’s painting for its public schools: “It is thought that the representation which is declared historically correct, together with such lectures as the teachers may deliver, will add much to the pupil’s knowledge and keep alive a proper reverence for the country’s emblem.” —New York Times, 14 Feb, 1897
• in 1885, NYC school principal George T. Balch (1821-1908), a vet. of the Indian & Civil Wars, wrote Salute to the Flag, the U.S.A.'s first pledge of allegiance
"I give my hand and my heart to my country — one nation, one language, one flag."
• the heightened patriotism of the era inspired a movement to organize schoolyard flag raising ceremonies • the American Flag Assn. was founded in 1897 for the "fostering of public sentiment in favor of honoring the flag in our country and preserving it from desecration" • Natl. Flag Day was proclaimed in 1917
• Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who worked in the premium dept. of The Youth's Companion magazine, wrote a new U.S. Pledge of Allegiance (1892) for his employer • created as part of the magazine's campaign to sell American flags to public schools • goal was a flag in every classroom • 25,000 schools acquired flags the 1st yr. • though priced "at cost," banner sales proved profitable
• Bellamy also choreographed a salute — the "Bellamy Salute" — to accompany the pledge • because of its similarity to the Nazi heil it was replaced by a right-hand-over-heart gesture during World War II • another Youth's Companion employee, James Upham, headed a flag-centric project designed to engage public schools in the commemoration of the U.S.A.'s 1st Columbus Day (Oct. 1892)
The Verdict
• for nearly a century-and-a-half, historians have debated the available evidence in an attempt to prove that Betsy Ross either did or did not produce the 1st American flag: "There’s no good historical evidence that she did. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t. There’s simply a lack of documentation. Most historians believe the story is apocryphal." —Marc Leepson, author of Flag: An American Biography, The Truth About Betsy Ross
• the identity of the woman who sewed America's 1st flag may never be certain, but there is good reason to believe that its designer may have been Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) • the NJ representative to the Continental Congress & signer of the Declaration of Independence is the only person entered into the Congressional record for designing the 1st American flag
• it has been speculated that on 14 June, 1777, it was Hopkinson who replaced the British crosses in the Continental Colors with white stars on a blue field • no original sketch of a Hopkinson flag exists, but surviving rough sketches including his design for the Great Seal of the U.S. incorporate elements of 2 of his flag designs —Wikipedia
On 25 May, 1780, Hopkinson wrote to the Continental Board, requesting "a Quarter Cask of the public Wine" as payment for several itemized "patriotic designs" he had completed, most notably, "the flag of the United States of America" • submitted another bill on 24 June for "drawings and devices," including "the Naval Flag of the United States"
• the Treasury Board rejected his request for payment because he "was not the only person consulted on those exhibitions of Fancy" & furthermore was not entitled to compensation as he was already on the government payroll —Did Francis Hopkinson Design Two Flags?, Earl P. Williams, Jr.
• Hopkinson is also considered America's 1st poet-composer • written at age 21, his song My Days have been so Wondrous Free (1759) is regarded as the earliest surviving American secular composition [listen] —UPen•edu
Saving Betsy's House
• by 1859, 239 Arch St. was occupied by the family of German immigrant (Carl) Philip Mund (1822-1883), who operated a tailor's shop on the 1st floor • the landlord, after collecting rent for the first year, never returned • over the succeeding rent-free decades, the Munds operated a variety of businesses in their retail space
• after Canby's 1870 speech identified the location of Betsy Ross's house as Arch between 2nd & 3rd, the Munds — occupants of the block's last standing colonial house — posted a sign: "First Flag of the US Made in this House" • in 1876, as visitors poured into the city for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, the Munds ran an ad for their latest 1st floor business: "Original Flag House, Lager, Wine and Liquors. This is the house where the first United States flag was made by Mrs. John Ross." —Historic Philadelphia
• after Philip Mund died his wife Amelia, who objected to running a saloon, converted the space into a cigar store & candy shop which operated until 1892 — her son Charles then devoted the space to a museum/souvenir shop [photo] —The Betsy Ross House Facts, Myths, and Pictures by G.A. Anderson
• c. 1897 citizens led by Charles Weisgerber organized the American Flag Soc. & Betsy Ross Memorial Assn. • goal was to rescue the house from imminent demolition • intended to purchase it from Charles Mund, restore it to its 18th-c. appearance, preserve the memory of Betsy Ross & honor the American flag
• to raise the funds for purchasing the Betsy Ross "American Flag House," the Association devised a rudimentary multi-level marketing strategy • sold lifetime memberships for 10 cents • each member was encouraged to recruit others & form a group of 30; each group founder received a chromolithographograph of Weisgerber's painting • over 2 million monochrome certificates were sold at ten cents each • the colorful chromoliths were available at addl. cost (frame not included) —Enjoying Philadelphia
• the Association leased the house in 1898, purchased it in 1903 • Weisgerber & his family moved in • lived upstairs, kept the museum & a souvenir shop on the 1st floor • in 1902 they named their newborn son Charles Vexil Domus, Latin for "flag house" [photo] • he would later replace his parents as custodian of the house —G.A. Anderson, loc. cit.
• by 1936 the house was on the verge of ruin • in 1937 Philadelphia Mayor Davis Wilson proposed a restoration by WPA workers • this provoked "a storm of protest" from critics
• Pennsylvania Historical Soc. members wrote off the Betsy Ross story as "hokum" and "the bunk" • the protests from scholars & historians sparked an unwinnable faith vs. reason culture war with patriotic organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution & the Patriotic Order Sons of America
• amid the controversy, Philadelphia radio manufacturer & philanthropist A. Atwater Kent (1873-1949) offered to pay up to $25K for the restoration • Historical architect, Richardson Brognard Okie (1875-1945) won the commission
• the design for the restoration was derived from evidence & conjecture • goal was to return the bldg. to its c. 1777 appearance • surviving architectural elements were preserved when possible • materials salvaged from demolished colonial era homes were also used • in 1941, the Association gave the property to the city • the house now stands as one of Philadelphia's most popular tourist attractions
Postscript
• in 1929 Hugg's tavern, where Betsy Griscom defied family & church to marry John Ross, was demolished to make way for the Proprietor's Park swimming pool, which no longer exists • the Revolutionary War-era Hugg-Harrison-Glover House (1764), built on property owned by the Hugg family as early as 1683, was razed in the face of fervent opposition, March, 2017 —Facebook
• 178 yrs. after Betsy's wedding & just 5 blocks from where Hugg's once stood, another American legend was born at the Twin Bar [photo] when Bill Haley (and the Saddlemen) performed there in the early 1950s [poster] • in 1952 Haley's band laid down a cover of Rock the Joint [listen], an historic 1949 recording by Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians [listen] • each of these recordings has been cited as a candidate for the title of first rock 'n' roll song • Gloucester City thus became one of several U.S. sites that claims the title "Cradle of Rock 'n Roll"
Charles H. Weisgerber died in 1932 • his magnum opus, The Birth of the American Flag lay rolled up & hidden away in a barn loft & later in the back of a South Jersey dye-making workshop • his grandson Stuart (son of Vexil Domus) found it — still rolled up — in his mother's basement • its poor condition precluded exhibition: in the 50s, hanging in the old State Museum at Harrisburg, it had been vandalized, then incurred additional damage from repeated unrolling
• Weisgerber sought a Philadelphia home for the massive work but was unsuccessful • after a $40K restoration in 2002 the painting, it's appraised market value just $50K, returned to the State Museum at Harrisburg
• in 1976 the remains of Betsy Ross & 3rd husband John Claypoole were moved from Mount Moriah cemetery, Yeadon, PA, to the garden on the west side of the Betsy Ross House courtyard
Payroll and tax forms with a calculator
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Description
1. (TCO 1) Approximately what percentage of businesses have a payroll with fewer than 500 people?
(Points : 5)
10 percent
25 percent
75 percent
99 percent
2. (TCO 1) You have a small business that offers printing services. One of the services you offer is a high-speed color copier. You are currently the only printing service in a tri-state area that offers such a service. You currently have _______.
(Points : 5)
Creative destruction
A competitive advantage
A qualitative advantage
A capital advantage
3. (TCO 1) Your employees are your most valued assets due to their _______.
(Points : 5)
Skill, knowledge, and information
Earnings
Knowledge of finance and accounting
College degree and high IQ
4. (TCO 1) Entrepreneurship primarily involves which phase of business?
(Points : 5)
The startup process
Hiring of key employees
Maintaining a positive cash flow
Building and maintaining a sufficient customer base
5. (TCO 1) Which of the following is the most common form of business ownership?
(Points : 5)
Sole proprietorships
Partnerships
Corporations
Joint ventures
6. (TCO 4) Which of the following acts was written to prevent large businesses from forming trusts?
(Points : 5)
Clayton Act
Federal Trade Commission Act
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Civil Rights Act of 1964
7. (TCO 4) Bankruptcy remains on a credit report for how many years?
(Points : 5)
3 years
5 years
7 years
9 years
8. (TCO 4) Peter Drucker stated that businesses have _______ basic functions.
(Points : 5)
Two
Three
Four
Five
9. (TCO 4) Managing inventory can be compared to which of the following?
(Points : 5)
A balancing act
Preparing for a test
Driving a bus
Lion taming
10. (TCO 4) What is the key word in evaluating a channel of distribution? (Points : 5)
Location
Plastics
Competition
Efficiency
11. (TCO 4) A long-term agreement to rent a building, equipment, or other assets is known as a:
(Points : 5)
Lease
Rental contract
Legally liable contract
Business contract
12. (TCO 4) Consumers typically do not want the cheapest product available; they want the:
(Points : 5)
Best product for the highest price
Most reasonable product at the highest price
Most reasonable product at the lowest price
Best product for the most reasonable price
13. (TCO 4) The point at which total cost equals total revenue and the business is neither making or losing money is known as the _______.
(Points : 5)
Profit area
Loss area
Breakeven point
Profit point
14. (TCO 2) Through the franchise agreement, the ________ gains the benefit of the parent company's expertise, experience, management systems, marketing, and financial help.
(Points : 5)
Franchisor
Franchisee
Leaser
Lessee
15. (TCO 2) The financial document that is used by startup businesses to show where capital comes from and for what it will be used is called:
(Points : 5)
Cash-flow statement
Projected earnings statement
Sources and uses of funds
Income statement
16. (TCO 2) Which of the following is not included in the marketing plan section of the business plan?
(Points : 5)
How sales forecasts will be reached
Marketing objectives
Identification of potential markets
Cash-flow statements
17. (TCO 3) When analyzing financial statements, remember that profits can be increased and expenses can be decreased to make the records look better __________.
(Points : 5)
In the short run
In the long run
For tax purposes
For bank audits
18. (TCO 3) In the chapter opener, what was the limitation that kept Philip Rosedale from creating Second Life when he first had the idea for it?
(Points : 5)
He didn't have enough money.
He didn't know how to promote it.
Computers were not powerful enough at the time.
Some technical gadget like a flux capacitor needed to be invented first.
19. (TCO 3) Most Inc. 500 companies receive more than half of their revenue from:
(Points : 5)
Their local area
Their regional area
Outside their home regions and internationally
A 100-mile proximity of their business
20. (TCO 3) Computers, office equipment, and furniture are all examples of ________ that have a life of more than one year.
(Points : 5)
Current assets
Current liabilities
Capital equipment assets
Investments
21. (TCO 5) Mintzberg suggested several important skills a manager needed in order to perform the four functions of management. The most important of these was listed as
(Points : 5)
Carrying out negotiations
Motivating subordinates
Making decisions in conditions of extreme ambiguity in allocating resources
Being willing to continually learn on the job
22. (TCO 5) Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory ranks the highest level of needs as what?
(Points : 5)
Physiological
Safety and security
Esteem
Self-actualization
23. (TCO 5) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission _______ that the information from a job analysis be used to ensure equal employment opportunity.
(Points : 5)
Strongly urges and sometimes requires
Always requires
Urges
Does not care
24. (TCO 6) A production process that operates for long periods of time without interruption is known as?
(Points : 5)
Analytic system
Synthetic system
Continuous process
Intermittent process
25. (TCO 6) Scheduling is necessary to maximize levels of: (Points : 5)
Efficiency and customer service
Customer service and expense
Sales and expense
Efficiency and effectiveness
26. (TCO 7) An account number of 13 would represent which of the following accounts?
(Points : 5)
Accounts payable
Accrued taxes
Insurance expense
Accounts receivable
27. (TCO 7) Equity funds never need to: (Points : 5)
Be repaid
Be accounted for
Be stated on the income statement
Be stated on the balance sheet
28. (TCO 8) About what percent of small businesses export goods and services?
(Points : 5)
10%
15%
30%
50%
29. (TCO 9) The obligation of business to maximize the positive impact it has on society while minimizing the negative impact is called:
(Points : 5)
Moral obligation
Business responsibility
Business ethics
Social responsibility
30. (TCO 9) Threats and opportunities to a business can be found in which of the following environments?
(Points : 5)
Economic and legal only
Legal and sociocultural only
Technological and competitive only
Economic, legal, sociocultural, competitive, and technological
1. (TCO 1) Compare and contrast a sole proprietorship, a partnership and a corporation. Provide examples of where you would use each structure. (Points : 14)
2. (TCO 3) Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of buying an existing business. Under what circumstances would one be more advantageous? (Points : 14)
3. (TCO 4) Compare and contrast Economic Order Quantity and Just-In-Time as inventory control methods. Evaluate how these control methods can improve the financial position of a small business. (Points : 14)
4. (TCO 6) Compare and contrast analytic manufacturing systems and synthetic manufacturing systems, giving an example of each. (Points : 14)
5. (TCO 9) Analyze the four levels depicted in the pyramid of social responsibility. (Points : 14)
finance and accounting, finance and accounting outsourcing advice, f&a, f&a outsourcing, fao, finance and accounting transformation, f&a transformation, advisory
Two new wagon for my Wild West layout… one for the local bad guy, and one for the miner’s payroll. I even have a safe inside the lock-box cage on the back of the payroll wagon. Both are MODs of two different sets, with the bad guy’s being set 75951 (Grindelwald’s Escape) and the payroll wagon wagon is from set 6765 (Gold City Junction).
The film debuted on Thursday, November 15, 1956. Following this exclusive Broadway engagement, 20th Century Fox released the movie nationally a week later on November 21, rolling out a then-record-breaking 575 prints.
The movie played for a two-week run at the New York Paramount Theater. The theater heavily hyped the engagement, even building the massive, 40-foot cutout of Elvis above the marquee. While it brought in an immense wave of ecstatic teenagers and massive ticket sales during its opening days, attendance dropped significantly on weeknights. Variety ultimately noted that its Broadway run was somewhat of a box-office disappointment compared to the staggering numbers it generated when it finally hit local markets across the country for its wide national release.
"Confederate soldiers led by Vance Reno (Richard Egan) rob a Union train of its payroll money. But because the Civil War officially ended the day before, their theft was not a legitimate act of war. Now an outlaw, Vance takes his share and heads home, where he intends to marry his fiancée, Cathy (Debra Paget). But upon arrival he discovers that she has already married his youngest brother, Clint (Elvis Presley). The troubled family tries to reconnect -- while also evading the law." -- Google
Full Movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i_e5KunThA
Deciding on the right software, itself is a very difficult task. Once decided it becomes prohibitive to change this decision at a later stage. Also the technology needs regular updates and maintenance. Version updates also cost you. What then is a solution to manage payroll efficiently?
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Answer 1
For many businesses, Quickbooks is what runs the vast majority of their accounting and payroll systems. Yet, for many, the nature of Quickbooks’ multi-user system is somewhat mystical. The challenge is always to provide reliable access to database resources, but what do you do if that doesn’t work? Intuit offers some direction on this topic, but not nearly as much as many would like. We’ve had some experience with these issues over the years and thought it would be a good time to go over the best ways to work with QuickBooks in multi-user mode.
First and foremost, you need to decide what computer will be hosting the QuickBooks database file (usually a .QBW file). If you’re just beginning to use multi-user access or are having problems, the key is to define the computer you want to be your server. This computer would ideally be a Windows machine that stays on all the time and is not regularly operated by a user. While there is a way to share files that uses different computers, it’s best that you choose one machine and make it the server.
Once that’s decided, you’ll perform the standard file sharing and mapping processes from client computer or install an Active Directory. That stuff is beyond the scope of this article, but you’re having trouble with QuickBooks in multi-user mode, then all of that has likely been done.
Setup scanning and monitoring on the server
Included with all versions of QuickBooks is the QuickBooks Database Server – this needs to bee installed on your chosen server computer (you’ll find it on the QuickBooks CD). Also in this package is the Database Manager tool. The Manager needs to be configured for monitoring the correct locations on the server. Be sure to add the directory where the database (.QBW) files are located and that the monitored drives are correctly checked off. It’s not entirely clear what settings, if any, the scanning process acts on – but it appears as though the QuickBooks Database Server needs to know where the database files are located, and this tool does that.
QB-2
Make sure the Scan Folders and Monitored Drives include the .QBW files
Make sure services are clean
Installing and upgrading various versions of the QuickBooks Database Server tends to create new services, but we also found that the installation process does not remove older services. Be sure to run “services.msc” on your server and have only a single (newest) service of QuickBooksDB## and QBCFMonitorService. If needed, the AutoRuns tool from Sysinternals can be used to delete un-needed service versions. In addition, make sure that you only install the QuickBooks Database Server (not the full QuickBooks application).
QB-1
The two QuickBooks services running on a server
What services need to be running?
As shown in the picture above, only the QBCMonitorService and QuickBooksDB## services need to be running for your database server to operate normally. You do not need the entire QuickBooks Application installed or loaded, only the database server.
What ports need to be open?
Many of the connection issues you’ll see are likely due to ports not being accessible, open or correctly configured. If you have checked that all of your services are clean and correctly running, you should next make sure that either (1) the server’s firewall has the required ports open or (2) is just disabled altogether (disabling this is is a good quick way to rule out firewall problems). QuickBooks has a full rundown online of all the ports required for each version of QuickBooks.
QB-4
A typical QuickBooks server with open ports (fourth column)
That big list is messy, but in most small environments ports 8019, 56722, and 55348 through 55352 need to be open-able on your server. You can find out what programs use what ports on your server by using the free CurrPorts tool from Nirsoft. You’ll also want to make sure you know what firewall software is installed on the server and either configure or disable it.
What is the “Alternate Setup?”
In our experience, the Alternate Setup tends to cause the most confusion. Using this option makes QuickBooks multi-user capable but turns the first computer to open the file into a server. If you stop and think, you might see how this could make for a very frustrating environment. You may not know which computer has become a serve, or the firewall may be mis-configured on that computer blocking all access. It’s generally not a good to use Alternate Setup unless you absolutely do not have a computer that is on always on that can be a server.
Use the Connection Diagnostic Tool
Intuit also offers a tool called the QuickBooks Connection Diagnostic Tool (download here). In cases where you’re comfortable that the server is setup right, but can’t tell if the clients are connecting correctly – Using this tool (as well as other basic tools like ping), will tell you if a client computer can open your QuickBooks database in multi-user mode. We’ve even seen scenarios where local client firewalls were restricting access from the client to the server, so using a tool like this may help you find and correct those sorts of issues.
How will I know it’s working?
There are a few ways you can tell you’ve successfully configured this. First, from the client computer’s installation of QuickBooks, you’ll be able to click on File -> Enter Muti-User Mode and not see any errors. The newest versions of QuickBooks we’ve seen are set to notify when another user logs in – this is another sign that things are on the right track. To know that your chosen server is doing the work, log into it and run the QuickBooks Database Server Manager, click on the “Database Server” tab and the “Refresh List” button. What you should see is a listing of open database files and connected users (listed as: User1, User2, User3).
QB-5
Multi-User mode working on a server
What versions of Windows work with the Database Server?
We’ve seen, installed and tested the QuickBooks Database Server on Windows XP, Windows 7 (x86/x64), Windows Server 2003 (x86/x64), and Windows Server 2008 (x86/x64).
There you have it. Hopefully this helps give you some tools to setup and troubleshoot various problems related to QuickBooks multi-user access. If you have more details about using this software and other supported operating systems, pass along the information and we’ll keep this article updated.
This article applies to QuickBooks 2012, although it should also apply to most older versions too.
Thank you.
With Biscione&Associati S.r.l.: an infographic explaining the commercial offer from INAZ, part of a larger work
There is no much word to say at this point than finding the right payroll system that works for your industrial community. You will always reap the dividend of using payroll accounting in your industrial community, repeatedly. You can start enjoying the great benefits or #PayrollAccounting by establishing a healthy working relationship with #GLGAccounting or any other firm in its category. goo.gl/GWOc2y
In December of 2003, I was doing a two day payroll seminar in Las Vegas. There were only about eight people, including four from one company in Denver. I asked why they just didn't go to the seminar in Denver instead of traveling to Las Vegas. "To party in Vegas, of course" was their response. I couldn't argue with that one.
We were in a terrible meeting room. The hotels didn't make much money from the company I worked for and so they often treated us like crap. But I'd found that the silver lining of miserable venues is that it usually binds the class and me together with the shared misery. So I had that going for me, which was nice.
By the end of the first day, the challenges were so exasperating that we had given up and just greeted each new disaster like a joke. We definitely did bond and eventually had fun. And I managed to get through the first day of the course more or less on time.
Since it was Vegas, and it was the Christmas season, the out-of-town participants headed for the casinos. The next morning I found this figurine beside my projector. Their story was that they were in a drunken haze when they found it in a casino gift shop. Since we had bonded, and it was Christmas, they bought me a present.
They said they got it because it kind of looked like me. According to them, it's a character from a Disney movie.
[update - I just checked and it has a Disney mark on the bottom]
I can't recall which one since I will admit I got a little verklempt. It was the first (and only) time someone had brought the "teacher" an "apple."
World Famous Frazier Studio
Elgin, Illinois
January 14, 2017
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Ricky : "Okay, Mom! We got this! You give me the numbers that everybody worked and I'll add them up!"
Me : "Are you sure??"
Ricky : "Yup! Easy peasy! What's the worst that can happen??"
Me : "Uhh.. We could be way off and someone doesn't get as much money in their check!! Or too much money!! That wouldn't be good either!"
Ricky : "Well.... maybe I'll do the adding and then you double check it, okay??"
Me : "Yeah. I think that's a good idea."
Ricky : "I feel like Tom Hanks in Big... except this is a quiet calculator not a giant music playing keyboard! Can you say 'beep' and 'boop' each time I hit a button??"
Me : "I'll do my best. Beep."
Ricky : "Thanks!"
Payroll management consists of a lot of stages and procedures that require expertise in the department. Payroll software offers lots of different advantages – for the user, the employees and the company.
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payroll services can bring about new business insights and help you focus on what you do best - running your own business. Our payroll management services allow you to take your human resources management to a higher level.
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The above Payroll Outsourcing Services piece which has been discussed here is completely about the several benefits and outsource payroll services advantages that are provided by online payroll management system
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This bus was painted platinum in honour of Arriva London receiving the Platinum award for Payroll Giving, with 20 percent of the bus company's staff supporting charities via the scheme. Arriva London is the first bus company to receive this award.
www.arrivalondon.com/news/arriva-london-paints-a-bus-plat...
---- looking for Lady Florence .... ----
---- the public garden of Taormina .... ----
---- il giardino pubblico di Taormina .... ----
------------------------
Lady Florence, with her husband, Professor Cacciola, bought 87 lots of land to build the Public Garden, the Lady had on its payroll master builders, cabinet makers, farmers to whom he had taught the art of the English garden, she planted flowers, rare and exotic plants, the inevitable cypresses; she built the characteristic oriental style-Burmese buildings, (Florence, before coming and stop forever in Taormina, had traveled a lot, certainly drawing inspiration from his travels, in this case by his visitations in the Far East). Florence built large aviaries, with parrots and birds of various species coming from all parts of world . Even the features oriental buildings, served to welcome and accommodate the birds to get them to nest, as well as to serve as a shelter during the rain, when the Lady went in the garden to painting. Among the most challenging is what she herself called "The Beehives" as it reminded her a hive for the realization of many chambers, ". (In the years before the kids there were playing hide and seek, going up and down like an endless maze, while the couples of lovers there were hidden from prying eyes, but now you can no longer access the inside).
----------------
Lady Florence, assieme a suo marito, il professor Cacciola, acquistò 87 lotti di terreno per realizzare il Giardino Pubblico, la Lady aveva nel suo libro paga capimastri, ebanisti, contadini ai quali aveva insegnato l'arte del giardino all'Inglese, vi fece fece crescere fiori, piante rare ed esotiche, gli immancabili cipressi; vi costruì le caratteristiche costruzioni, su sua proggettazione, in stile orientale - Birmano (Florence, prima di giungere e fermarsi per sempre a Taormina, aveva viaggiato tantissimo, traendo certamente ispirazione dai suoi viaggi, in questo caso dalle sue visitazioni in estremo oriente). Florence fece costruire grandi uccelliere, facendo giungere da ogni parte del mondo pappagalli ed uccelli di varie specie. Anche le caratteristiche costruzioni orientaleggianti, servivano ad accogliere e ad ospitare gli uccelli affinchè vi nidificassero all'interno, nonchè a fungere da riparo durante la pioggia, quando la Lady si recava nel giardino ad esempio per dipingere. Tra le realizzazioni più impegnative c'è quella che ella stessa chiamò "The Beehives" poichè le rammentava un alveare per la realizzazione di numerose concamerazioni". (negli anni addietro i bimbi vi giocavano a rimpiattino, salendo e scendendo come in un interminabile dedalo, mentre le coppiette di innamorati vi trovavano riparo da sguardi indiscreti; ora non si può più accedere all'interno).
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This is a short and long collection of photographs, almost all made in Taormina (Sicily), and is divided into two parts: the first part I have included a few pictures, I put a few moments I catched in the alleys of the small Sicilian town, in the second part (the first to appear on Flickr) in which I tried to rebuild and at the same time to remember the singular feminine figure of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman, lover of art, botany, ornithology, travels, the arts magical and esoteric; she loved animals, but actively helped a lot of people; Taormina is to her that owes much of its luck; this Lady, hosting famous people of the time, contributed not a little to make known the beauty of this village Siculo to the whole world (and she improved and embellished much Taormina).
Lady Florence was born in Hallington On February 7, 1852, but soon became an orphan at the age of two years (his father committed suicide in 1854); his mother Catherine Anne was the maid of honor of Queen Victoria: the Queen which became attached enormously to Florence, and the Queen loved her like a true daughter. Florence at age 27, in 1879 was forced to leave everything to face a long journey lasting more than two years (Lady Florence fell prey to the notorius charms of the future Edward VII, who was already married; this sort of thing never went over well with Victoria, so Florence was asked to leave England). Lady Florence returned to his homeland for a short period, to be again driven out for an exiled perennial: She never returned to England (though, a generous monthly annuity was given hers on the orders of the Queen Victoria). Florence traveled widely, reached India, went to Burma, arrived in Australia she performed as a singer, and then finally arrive in February 1884 in Taormina: here you will stay until the end of his life (she died October 4, 1907 ). At Taormina she met the then mayor, the rich prof. Salvatore Cacciola, doctor, passionate student and Grand Master of Freemasonry: it is said that Lady Florence fell in love when she sought his help to cure "Sun", one of his dogs; from here to their wedding was a short step.
Lady florence bought several lots of land, created the current Public Garden of Taormina, planted olive trees, cypresses, exotic trees, and built those features buildings in oriental style; She bought by the former mayor the "Isola Bella" (She built an house and She planted trees and exotic plants, Mediterranean pines, as well as the inevitable cypress); She bought many arid and barren lands around Taormina (Mount Venus, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) and they become rich in vegetation, with many farmers she had taught the art of the English garden. Many people went knocking to her door, in financial difficulties, usually farmers and fishermen (also Oscar Wilde, disgraced by charges of homosexuality, received financial aid from Lady Florence), She made a major sewing school for young girls of Taormina, and instituted for their 87 wedding dowries. Fate was once again mocking her: the only child she had named Edward, died in childbirth. It was in use at the time, bathing in bathtubs filled with cold water of the sea (even the photographer Von Gloeden was addicted to this habit), but this proved fatal, Lady Florence died of pneumonia at the age of 55. For her express wish, She was buried in a district of Castelmola (accompanied by large numbers of Sicilian people, it tells of an endless line, to the sound of "ciaramelle", which reminded her bagpipes of her distant Scotland), district called "Francisi" in her memory (this term according to a medieval custom). In her will, Lady Florence forced heirs not to hunt in his vast possessions, not to build, and to accept and to help dogs and birds. Lady Florence was the first woman (not only in Sicily) to be allowed to be part of Freemasonry.
The writer Guido Gozzano, was inspired by Lady Florence, when he wrote the novel "Alcina".
----------------------------------
Questa è una raccolta di fotografie breve e lunga, quasi tutte realizzate a Taormina (Sicilia), raccolta che ho diviso in due parti: nella prima parte ho inserito alcuni ritratti, ho messo alcuni momenti colti nei vicoli del piccolo paese Siciliano, nella seconda parte (la prima ad apparire su Flickr) ho tentato di ricostruire, ed al contempo ricordare, la singolarissima figura di Lady Florence Trevelyan, una nobildonna Inglese amante dell'arte, della botanica, della ornitologia, dei viaggi, delle arti magiche ed esoteriche; lei, che fu una convinta animalista ante litteram, non si limitò ad amare solo gli animali, ma aiutò fattivamente persone di ogni ceto sociale, ebbe ricchezze ma al tempo stesso pagò prezzi altissimi in sofferenza e dolore: Taormina deve a lei molta della sua fortuna, poichè questa Lady, ospitando nei suoi possedimenti illustri e famosi personaggi dell'epoca, contribuì non poco a far conoscere al mondo intero le bellezze di questo paesino Siculo (ella stessa migliorò ed abbellì ancor più Taormina).
Lady Florence nacque in quel di Hallington il 7 febbraio del 1852, divenne ben presto orfana all'età di due anni ( il padre morì suicida nel 1854); sua mamma Catherine Anne era la dama di compagnia della regina Vittoria, la quale regina si affezionò enormemente a Florence, sì da amarla come una vera figlia. All'età di 27 anni, nel 1879 venne imposto a Florence di lasciare l'Inghilterra per affrontare un lungo viaggio, che sarà della durata di più di due anni (si ipotizza per farle dimenticare una relazione che non sarebbe mai dovuta accadere, col figlio della regina Vittoria, il futuro re Edoardo VII, che a quel tempo era già sposato; sembra che non sia stata affatto la gelosia della moglie di Edoardo, bensì la rigidità della madre Vittoria a decretarne l'esilio). Lady Florence dopo questo primo viaggio ritornò nella sua Inghilterra, ma vi restò ben poco, infatti dopo un brevissimo periodo Lady Florence venne nuovamente allontanata in esilio, e questa volta lo sarà per sempre: Florence non ritornerà mai più nella sua Inghilterra (un generoso vitalizio mensile le fu dato comunque su ordine della stessa Regina Vittoria, ovvio che ciò le fu indispensabile, essendo così lontana da casa). Florence viaggiò molto, raggiunse l'India, andò in Birmania, giunta in Australia si esibì come cantante, per poi infine giungere nel febbraio del 1884 a Taormina: qui vi resterà fino all'ultimo dei suoi giorni (lei morirà il 4 ottobre 1907). A Taormina ebbe modo di conoscere l'allora sindaco, il ricco prof. Salvatore Cacciola, medico, appassionato studioso e Gran Maestro della Massoneria: si racconta che Lady Florence se ne innamorò quando lei cercò l'aiuto del medico per curare "Sole", uno dei suoi cani; da qui al loro matrimonio, il passo fu breve.
Lady florence acquistò numerosi lotti di terreno, realizzò l'attuale Giardino Pubblico, vi piantò ulivi, cipressi, alberi esotici, costruì quelle caratteristiche costruzioni in stile birmano-orientale; acquistò dall'ex sindaco L'Isola Bella (vi costruì una casetta, e l'Isola, che altro non era che un ammasso brullo di scogli, divenne rigogliosa come la vediamo oggi, vi piantò alberi e piante esotiche, pini mediterranei, nonchè gli immancabili cipressi, così presenti in quasi tutta la cittadina); acquistò numerosi terreni intorno a Taormina (Monte Venere, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) sicchè da aridi e brulli che erano, li fece diventare ricchi di vegetazione (infatti aveva al soldo numerosi contadini ai quali aveva insegnato l'arte del giardino all'Inglese). Alla sua porta andarono a bussare numerose persone in difficoltà economiche, in genere contadini e pescatori, mai fu chiusa loro la porta... (anche Oscar Wilde, caduto in disgrazia per l'accusa di omosessualità, ricevette un aiuto finanziario dalla Lady); realizzò una importante scuola di cucito per le giovanette di Taormina, dando loro la possibilità di potersi mantenere da sole; istituì 87 doti di matrimonio per le ragazze Taorminesi (all'epoca una ragazza senza dote non aveva molte possibilità di formarsi una famiglia). Il destino infine fu ancora una volta beffardo con lei: l'unico figlio che lei ebbe, di nome Edoardo, morì durante il parto, il padre era un medico, tentò di rianimarlo, ma non ci fu nulla da fare. Era in uso all'epoca, fare bagni nelle vasche da bagno ricolme di acqua gelata di mare (anche il fotografo Von Gloeden era dedito a tale usanza, ma lui usava immergersi in acqua di mare calda, riuscendo a trovare in questa forma di talassoterapia una cura per la tisi, della quale era affetto): questa usanza fu fatale a Lady Florence, che morì di broncopolmonite a 55 anni di età. Per suo esplicito desiderio, la Trevelyan fu seppellita in una contrada di Castelmola (accompagnata da tantissima gente del luogo, si racconta di una fila interminabile di persone, al suono delle zampogne, che le ricordavano le cornamuse della sua lontana Scozia); la contrada dove fu seppellita (in quella la Lady aveva un'altra dimora), fu chiamata "Francisi" in sua memoria (tale termine indicava, secondo una usanza medioevale, una generica provenienza straniera, qualinque essa fosse). Nel suo testamento Lady Florence obbligò gli eredi a non cacciare nei suoi vasti possedimenti, a non costruire, ad accogliere e curare cani ed uccellini. Lady Florence fu la prima donna ad essere ammessa a fare parte della massoneria. Importò in Sicilia les tableaux vivants (i quadri viventi) e anche le sfilate dei carri in fiori a Palermo. Lo scrittore Guido Gozzano scrisse il romanzo "Alcina" ispirandosi a Lei.
---- thinking of Lady Florence .... ----
............. "The Beehives" ..............
------------------------
Lady Florence, with her husband, Professor Cacciola, bought 87 lots of land to build the Public Garden, the Lady had on its payroll master builders, cabinet makers, farmers to whom he had taught the art of the English garden, she planted flowers, rare and exotic plants, the inevitable cypresses; she built the characteristic oriental style-Burmese buildings, (Florence, before coming and stop forever in Taormina, had traveled a lot, certainly drawing inspiration from his travels, in this case by his visitations in the Far East). Florence built large aviaries, with parrots and birds of various species coming from all parts of world . Even the features oriental buildings, served to welcome and accommodate the birds to get them to nest, as well as to serve as a shelter during the rain, when the Lady went in the garden to painting. Among the most challenging is what she herself called "The Beehives" as it reminded her a hive for the realization of many chambers, ". (In the years before the kids there were playing hide and seek, going up and down like an endless maze, while the couples of lovers there were hidden from prying eyes, but now you can no longer access the inside).
----------------
Lady Florence, assieme a suo marito, il professor Cacciola, acquistò 87 lotti di terreno per realizzare il Giardino Pubblico, la Lady aveva nel suo libro paga capimastri, ebanisti, contadini ai quali aveva insegnato l'arte del giardino all'Inglese, vi fece fece crescere fiori, piante rare ed esotiche, gli immancabili cipressi; vi costruì le caratteristiche costruzioni, su sua proggettazione, in stile orientale - Birmano (Florence, prima di giungere e fermarsi per sempre a Taormina, aveva viaggiato tantissimo, traendo certamente ispirazione dai suoi viaggi, in questo caso dalle sue visitazioni in estremo oriente). Florence fece costruire grandi uccelliere, facendo giungere da ogni parte del mondo pappagalli ed uccelli di varie specie. Anche le caratteristiche costruzioni orientaleggianti, servivano ad accogliere e ad ospitare gli uccelli affinchè vi nidificassero all'interno, nonchè a fungere da riparo durante la pioggia, quando la Lady si recava nel giardino ad esempio per dipingere. Tra le realizzazioni più impegnative c'è quella che ella stessa chiamò "The Beehives" poichè le rammentava un alveare per la realizzazione di numerose concamerazioni". (negli anni addietro i bimbi vi giocavano a rimpiattino, salendo e scendendo come in un interminabile dedalo, mentre le coppiette di innamorati vi trovavano riparo da sguardi indiscreti; ora non si può più accedere all'interno).
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This is a short and long collection of photographs, almost all made in Taormina (Sicily), and is divided into two parts: the first part I have included a few pictures, I put a few moments I catched in the alleys of the small Sicilian town, in the second part (the first to appear on Flickr) in which I tried to rebuild and at the same time to remember the singular feminine figure of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman, lover of art, botany, ornithology, travels, the arts magical and esoteric; she loved animals, but actively helped a lot of people; Taormina is to her that owes much of its luck; this Lady, hosting famous people of the time, contributed not a little to make known the beauty of this village Siculo to the whole world (and she improved and embellished much Taormina).
Lady Florence was born in Hallington On February 7, 1852, but soon became an orphan at the age of two years (his father committed suicide in 1854); his mother Catherine Anne was the maid of honor of Queen Victoria: the Queen which became attached enormously to Florence, and the Queen loved her like a true daughter. Florence at age 27, in 1879 was forced to leave everything to face a long journey lasting more than two years (Lady Florence fell prey to the notorius charms of the future Edward VII, who was already married; this sort of thing never went over well with Victoria, so Florence was asked to leave England). Lady Florence returned to his homeland for a short period, to be again driven out for an exiled perennial: She never returned to England (though, a generous monthly annuity was given hers on the orders of the Queen Victoria). Florence traveled widely, reached India, went to Burma, arrived in Australia she performed as a singer, and then finally arrive in February 1884 in Taormina: here you will stay until the end of his life (she died October 4, 1907 ). At Taormina she met the then mayor, the rich prof. Salvatore Cacciola, doctor, passionate student and Grand Master of Freemasonry: it is said that Lady Florence fell in love when she sought his help to cure "Sun", one of his dogs; from here to their wedding was a short step.
Lady florence bought several lots of land, created the current Public Garden of Taormina, planted olive trees, cypresses, exotic trees, and built those features buildings in oriental style; She bought by the former mayor the "Isola Bella" (She built an house and She planted trees and exotic plants, Mediterranean pines, as well as the inevitable cypress); She bought many arid and barren lands around Taormina (Mount Venus, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) and they become rich in vegetation, with many farmers she had taught the art of the English garden. Many people went knocking to her door, in financial difficulties, usually farmers and fishermen (also Oscar Wilde, disgraced by charges of homosexuality, received financial aid from Lady Florence), She made a major sewing school for young girls of Taormina, and instituted for their 87 wedding dowries. Fate was once again mocking her: the only child she had named Edward, died in childbirth. It was in use at the time, bathing in bathtubs filled with cold water of the sea (even the photographer Von Gloeden was addicted to this habit), but this proved fatal, Lady Florence died of pneumonia at the age of 55. For her express wish, She was buried in a district of Castelmola (accompanied by large numbers of Sicilian people, it tells of an endless line, to the sound of "ciaramelle", which reminded her bagpipes of her distant Scotland), district called "Francisi" in her memory (this term according to a medieval custom). In her will, Lady Florence forced heirs not to hunt in his vast possessions, not to build, and to accept and to help dogs and birds. Lady Florence was the first woman (not only in Sicily) to be allowed to be part of Freemasonry.
The writer Guido Gozzano, was inspired by Lady Florence, when he wrote the novel "Alcina".
----------------------------------
Questa è una raccolta di fotografie breve e lunga, quasi tutte realizzate a Taormina (Sicilia), raccolta che ho diviso in due parti: nella prima parte ho inserito alcuni ritratti, ho messo alcuni momenti colti nei vicoli del piccolo paese Siciliano, nella seconda parte (la prima ad apparire su Flickr) ho tentato di ricostruire, ed al contempo ricordare, la singolarissima figura di Lady Florence Trevelyan, una nobildonna Inglese amante dell'arte, della botanica, della ornitologia, dei viaggi, delle arti magiche ed esoteriche; lei, che fu una convinta animalista ante litteram, non si limitò ad amare solo gli animali, ma aiutò fattivamente persone di ogni ceto sociale, ebbe ricchezze ma al tempo stesso pagò prezzi altissimi in sofferenza e dolore: Taormina deve a lei molta della sua fortuna, poichè questa Lady, ospitando nei suoi possedimenti illustri e famosi personaggi dell'epoca, contribuì non poco a far conoscere al mondo intero le bellezze di questo paesino Siculo (ella stessa migliorò ed abbellì ancor più Taormina).
Lady Florence nacque in quel di Hallington il 7 febbraio del 1852, divenne ben presto orfana all'età di due anni ( il padre morì suicida nel 1854); sua mamma Catherine Anne era la dama di compagnia della regina Vittoria, la quale regina si affezionò enormemente a Florence, sì da amarla come una vera figlia. All'età di 27 anni, nel 1879 venne imposto a Florence di lasciare l'Inghilterra per affrontare un lungo viaggio, che sarà della durata di più di due anni (si ipotizza per farle dimenticare una relazione che non sarebbe mai dovuta accadere, col figlio della regina Vittoria, il futuro re Edoardo VII, che a quel tempo era già sposato; sembra che non sia stata affatto la gelosia della moglie di Edoardo, bensì la rigidità della madre Vittoria a decretarne l'esilio). Lady Florence dopo questo primo viaggio ritornò nella sua Inghilterra, ma vi restò ben poco, infatti dopo un brevissimo periodo Lady Florence venne nuovamente allontanata in esilio, e questa volta lo sarà per sempre: Florence non ritornerà mai più nella sua Inghilterra (un generoso vitalizio mensile le fu dato comunque su ordine della stessa Regina Vittoria, ovvio che ciò le fu indispensabile, essendo così lontana da casa). Florence viaggiò molto, raggiunse l'India, andò in Birmania, giunta in Australia si esibì come cantante, per poi infine giungere nel febbraio del 1884 a Taormina: qui vi resterà fino all'ultimo dei suoi giorni (lei morirà il 4 ottobre 1907). A Taormina ebbe modo di conoscere l'allora sindaco, il ricco prof. Salvatore Cacciola, medico, appassionato studioso e Gran Maestro della Massoneria: si racconta che Lady Florence se ne innamorò quando lei cercò l'aiuto del medico per curare "Sole", uno dei suoi cani; da qui al loro matrimonio, il passo fu breve.
Lady florence acquistò numerosi lotti di terreno, realizzò l'attuale Giardino Pubblico, vi piantò ulivi, cipressi, alberi esotici, costruì quelle caratteristiche costruzioni in stile birmano-orientale; acquistò dall'ex sindaco L'Isola Bella (vi costruì una casetta, e l'Isola, che altro non era che un ammasso brullo di scogli, divenne rigogliosa come la vediamo oggi, vi piantò alberi e piante esotiche, pini mediterranei, nonchè gli immancabili cipressi, così presenti in quasi tutta la cittadina); acquistò numerosi terreni intorno a Taormina (Monte Venere, Monte Croce, Monte Porretta) sicchè da aridi e brulli che erano, li fece diventare ricchi di vegetazione (infatti aveva al soldo numerosi contadini ai quali aveva insegnato l'arte del giardino all'Inglese). Alla sua porta andarono a bussare numerose persone in difficoltà economiche, in genere contadini e pescatori, mai fu chiusa loro la porta... (anche Oscar Wilde, caduto in disgrazia per l'accusa di omosessualità, ricevette un aiuto finanziario dalla Lady); realizzò una importante scuola di cucito per le giovanette di Taormina, dando loro la possibilità di potersi mantenere da sole; istituì 87 doti di matrimonio per le ragazze Taorminesi (all'epoca una ragazza senza dote non aveva molte possibilità di formarsi una famiglia). Il destino infine fu ancora una volta beffardo con lei: l'unico figlio che lei ebbe, di nome Edoardo, morì durante il parto, il padre era un medico, tentò di rianimarlo, ma non ci fu nulla da fare. Era in uso all'epoca, fare bagni nelle vasche da bagno ricolme di acqua gelata di mare (anche il fotografo Von Gloeden era dedito a tale usanza, ma lui usava immergersi in acqua di mare calda, riuscendo a trovare in questa forma di talassoterapia una cura per la tisi, della quale era affetto): questa usanza fu fatale a Lady Florence, che morì di broncopolmonite a 55 anni di età. Per suo esplicito desiderio, la Trevelyan fu seppellita in una contrada di Castelmola (accompagnata da tantissima gente del luogo, si racconta di una fila interminabile di persone, al suono delle zampogne, che le ricordavano le cornamuse della sua lontana Scozia); la contrada dove fu seppellita (in quella la Lady aveva un'altra dimora), fu chiamata "Francisi" in sua memoria (tale termine indicava, secondo una usanza medioevale, una generica provenienza straniera, qualinque essa fosse). Nel suo testamento Lady Florence obbligò gli eredi a non cacciare nei suoi vasti possedimenti, a non costruire, ad accogliere e curare cani ed uccellini. Lady Florence fu la prima donna ad essere ammessa a fare parte della massoneria. Importò in Sicilia les tableaux vivants (i quadri viventi) e anche le sfilate dei carri in fiori a Palermo. Lo scrittore Guido Gozzano scrisse il romanzo "Alcina" ispirandosi a Lei.
Organisations are reluctant to outsource payroll due to several reasons and decide to process Payroll in-house. They tend to forget the hidden cost involved in terms of Manpower, Technology and infrastructure. Managing payroll in-house is more expensive than it appears at first glance. Payroll remains a non-core function. Wouldn't you be better off focusing on your business goals?
Photos courtesy of Missouri City
A new LED message sign, monument wall and landscaping now grace the entrance of City Hall.
Missouri City’s Successes Shine Bright in 2012
Missouri City continued its march of excellence in 2012 with an array of successful fiscal, civic, business and public safety accomplishments that kept the “Show Me City” on the list of the state’s and the nation’s premier municipalities.
Safe streets, best budgets, thriving companies, dynamic diversity, pristine parks and A-plus amenities remain hallmarks of the City, and have an impact on its infrastructure projects and retail and commercial sectors.
Showcasing the richness of our cultural, educational and economic strengths, a groundbreaking Rice University study this year found Missouri City has surpassed Houston in diversity.
“Our diversity brings different ideas and traditions to the table, and we are united in the direction of our community’s future,” said City Manager Edward Broussard. “With 20 parks, two championship golf courses, first-class amenities and rich historical traditions, we encourage everyone to discover Missouri City.”
City Council continued to provide strong leadership for citizens and staff in 2012. From left are Councilmember Don Smith, District B, Councilmember Bobby Marshall, District A, Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Wyatt, At Large Position 1, Mayor Allen Owen, Councilmember Danny Nguyen, At Large Position 2, Councilmember Floyd Emery, District D, and Councilmember Robin Elackatt, District C.
Additionally, MONEY Magazine and CNNMoney named Missouri City one of 2012’s Top 10 Most Affordable Cities in the nation for homebuyers and “we are steadfast in our commitment to remain a premier location with scenic neighborhoods, low crime, top-rated schools and expanded quality recreational opportunities,” Broussard said.
And, when it comes to living healthy lifestyles; citizens are up to the challenge. Residents and staff formed a winning partnership this year to earn a second place honor in the Healthy at H-E-B Challenge, a statewide initiative aimed at getting Texans to become active and stay fit.
Another recreational accolade was earned by the award-winning Quail Valley Golf Course, which has hosted record rounds again this year. Avid Golfer ranked the El Dorado fairway as the No. 1 “Best Value Under $50”, and No. 2 among courses in the category of “Top-5 Intermediate-Priced • $36-$50”. And, the magazine ranked the La Quinta greens No. 2 among courses in the category of “Top-5 Value-Priced • $36-$50”.
QVGC is also now the third location for the First Tee of Greater Houston, a youth development program that teaches life lessons such as the importance of honesty, sportsmanship, perseverance, responsibility and judgment.
“We all know that Missouri City is a special place and these honors reinforce what those of us who live here know,” said Mayor Allen Owen. “As we move forward, our synergistic relationship with our families and business partners will continue to make Missouri City one of the best cities in America.”
Fiscal Fitness
Strong fiscal management earned the city a Double A rating for its general obligation bonds and certificates of obligation, a high rank based on sound budget policies and procedures that give the City a bright financial outlook for the future.
For more than 25 years, the City Budget and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report have been recognized annually by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for their detail on City services and programs and the City’s financial condition. And, for the second year in a row Missouri City has earned a “Gold Star” award for financial transparency and online reporting from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Maintaining fiscal excellence is a top priority for the City, with all departments focused on the effective and efficient management of financial resources.
A police officer, left, shares safety information with a resident. Firefighters, at right, perform a vehicle extrication demonstration.
Protecting the Public
Proactive public safety programs protect, educate and engage citizens, often providing a glimpse into the work of our first responders who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.
In 2012, the Missouri City Police Department hosted a series of safety seminars, including a citywide crime prevention meeting, ensuring citizens are prepared to safeguard their families and property.
And, this year brought a significant first for the Fire & Rescue Services as they hosted their inaugural annual open house. Hundreds visited Fire Station 1 and experienced how to handle a fire hose, learned about life-saving equipment, watched a vehicle extrication demonstration, toured the firehouse and practiced fire exit drills.
Another highlight was the graduation of the 26th Annual Missouri City Police and Fire Academy. This year’s class of 27 is now qualified to join the Police and Fire Auxiliary and Citizen’s Response Team after completing a free six-week training program that took them “behind-the-scenes”. The residents learned about traffic and criminal law, CPR, firearms, and the dangers associated with fighting fires and solving crimes.
The importance of Missouri City’s public safety investment in commercial areas also is demonstrated via the new Police Mini-Station on Texas Parkway. The station serves as a daily reminder to citizens that the City is dedicated to keeping them and their businesses safe.
Business is Booming
Continuing to build a sustainable business base is critical to future growth and development.
This year, Missouri City’s commitment to private-public partnerships was recognized with the prestigious 2012 Community Economic Development Award from the Texas Economic Development Council. The “Show Me City” won the distinction for its successful bid to attract Niagara Bottling Company, the second largest water bottling firm in the United States.
In making its decision, TEDC cited Missouri City’s “team effort” in partnering with the Greater Houston Partnership, the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, Fort Bend County, CenterPoint Energy Economic Development Group and Water Control and Improvement District No. 2 to interest Niagara in opening its doors in Lakeview Business Park, located near Fondren Road and Sam Houston Parkway.
The plant is expected to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2013. When complete, it will encompass more than 356,000 square feet, with water processing, bottle manufacturing, warehousing and a distribution facility.
A few miles away in the Beltway Crossing Complex on South Gessner Road, another major company is preparing to open its doors. Ben E. Keith Foods will complete the first phase of its 500,000-square-foot facility in the first quarter of 2013. When complete, the company, which was honored in 2012 by having Beltway Road renamed Ben E. Keith Way, will be the City’s largest employer.
Other new companies choosing to locate here during the past 12 months include Twin Star Bakery, Southwest Electronic Energy Corp., Fort Bend Brewing Company, Warren Alloy/Allied Fittings, Stream Realty and Bimbo Bakeries USA.
And, to create an ongoing dialogue with the business community, the City has launched Business Briefing Breakfasts. These monthly meetings focus on economic growth and development and are hosted in the City Centre at Quail Valley. For more information on the breakfasts, call 281.403.8530.
Infrastructure Improvements
Infrastructure improvements were a priority citywide. A major accomplishment was the official opening of the City’s new $50 million Regional Water Treatment Plant, the largest capital improvement project ever undertaken by the “Show Me City”. The project was the result of an unprecedented level of cooperation among 40 government and private sector groups.
The facility, which has the capacity to store 100 million gallons of water, was built to meet regulations set by the Fort Bend Subsidence District, which mandates that groundwater withdrawals must be no more than 70 percent of total water demand by Jan. 1, 2014. By January of 2025, withdrawals must be reduced to no more than 40 percent of water demand.
During a grand opening ceremony for the plant in August, partners raised their glasses—filled with water processed at the facility. Plant engineers say the quality of the refined water should exceed that of the groundwater residents currently drink with 33 types of tests conducted each day to ensure the water is safe to use. And, in recognition of its excellence, the RWTP won the Texas Public Works Association’s Project of the Year Award for “Environmental Projects at least $25 million but less than $75 million”.
Other infrastructure upgrades completed citywide include:
*Raised medians constructions on Highway 6 and Texas Parkway. The Texas Department of Transportation managed these mobility projects that improved safety for motorists and pedestrians. The projects included the installation of new traffic signals and six Dynamic Messages Signs along Highway 6, and the installation of new turn lanes along both roadways.
*Implementation of the $2.8 million Intelligent Transportation System to help synchronize traffic signals and manage traffic flow citywide.
*A showcase Missouri City monument wall was added to the entrance of the City Hall Complex, which has been revitalized with the addition of a new LED sign and landscaping. The monument wall is the latest of several new ones that now grace major thoroughfares helping to brand and beautify the area.
*Next year, Lexington Boulevard will be extended. Plans call for a decorative traffic signal at Texas Parkway, a four-lane boulevard roadway with sidewalks from Texas Parkway to Scanlin Road, as well as drainage structures. Fort Bend County has agreed to pay all costs of the $3.3 million project through the Fort Bend Mobility Bond program.
Other key infrastructure improvements include the reconstruction of El Dorado Bridge, the installment of flashing yellow arrows along major roadways and the construction of Fire Station #5, which is being fully funded by the Sienna Plantation Municipal Utility District. The station is expected to open in late 2013.
Another mobility milestone involves the METRO Park & Ride stop located in the Fort Bend Town Center at Fort Bend Parkway and Highway 6. Ridership on the service is steadily increasing, providing convenient, stress-free commutes to and from the Texas Medical Center and Houston’s central business district for hundreds of residents.
Pristine Parks
City Council followed through on its commitment to citizens that construction of the City Centre at Quail Valley and the Recreation and Tennis Center would be completed this year.
Since Missouri City’s new first-class amenities opened their doors, they have received rave reviews.
Missouri City’s premier City Centre at Quail Valley can host all of your special events.
As Fort Bend County’s premier events venue, the City Centre at Quail Valley, located at 2880 La Quinta Dr., has hosted dozens of festive occasions including weddings, business meetings, birthday parties, tournaments like the 2012 Fort Bend Chamber Challenge and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
To plan and schedule a function, individuals and businesses can call 281-403-8517.
Missouri City’s first-class Recreation and Tennis Center can help you stay fit with lots of fun activities.
The state-of-the-art Recreation and Tennis Center, located at 2701 Cypress Point Dr., continues to draw new members and has hosted tennis tournaments for local and regional organizations.
The Center, which was featured in the August edition of Athletic Business, has a Kid Zone, a full-size gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, tennis courts, batting cages, the latest cardio and weight equipment, an outdoor walking trail and tennis clinics. To join, visit the City website: www.missouricitytx.gov or call 281-403-8637.
Many distinctions set Missouri City apart from other municipalities, and the City’s pristine parks are among the area’s best.
The Edible Arbor Trail, which features groves of trees and shrubs that produce edible fruits and nuts, remains a favorite. It was recognized as an innovative project this year by the Texas Recreation and Parks Society and received an Honorable Mention for “On-the-Ground Projects” from the Houston-Galveston Area Council. The trail was also featured on Ch. 13’s Hometown Live Report.
Another parks project that has been popular is the expansion of Oyster Creek Trail. The 2.31 mile pathway, an outdoor haven for residents who enjoy a scenic hike, bike, walk or jog, underwent a revitalization that added a paved bike and pedestrian trail along Oyster Creek Bayou between Dulles Avenue and Cartwright Road.
Improvements made to the Cartwright Road Bridge extended Oyster Creek Trail under the bridge and connected it to the existing trail south of Cartwright Road.
Scenes from the Snowfest Festival, left, and from National Night Out, right. Below, MCJCF founding board members kickoff the group’s golden anniversary at a VIP Reception. Pictured from left, are Michael Mouton, Councilman Don Smith, who is Founder and Chairman, Sonja Thornton, Pamela Poole, Charles Swindell and Derrick Woods.
Treasured Traditions
Annual traditions build lasting bonds citywide and this year, these successful events helped form a strong sense of civic pride:
* The 29th Annual Snowfest Festival drew more than 5,000 to the City Hall Complex and featured a tree-lighting ceremony, colorful fireworks, bicycle raffles, the world’s tallest snowman bounce house, a snow hill, a toy drive and Santa! And, the Snowfest Parade drew hundreds and featured colorful floats, local bands, community groups and trailers decorated in holiday themes.
*The July 4th Festival was a fantastic celebration in Buffalo Run Park full of fun and fireworks. Thousands of families gathered to see the sky light up with color at dusk. Children also enjoyed a moonwalk, a rock wall, and a mechanical bull.
*The Fourth Annual “Operation Thanksgiving—Stuff the Squad Car!” put the unity in community as “Show Me City” citizens, businesses and staff partnered to fill 15 police patrol cars with canned and nonperishable food items to assist area families in need. The Second Mile Mission Center, Bethel Ministry and the Powerhouse of Love Food Bank benefitted from this benevolent event.
*The Missouri City Juneteenth Celebration Foundation commemorated its 10th Anniversary with a focus on families and their core contributions to our communities. At the Community Service Awards Gala tribute, retired NBA star Charlie Ward was the guest speaker. Other special celebrations were the Scholarship Golf Tournament, Family Fun Day in the Park and Night Out, Festival Under the Stars and the One Mile of Smiles Parade.
*And, neighborhoods across Missouri City held National Night Out block parties featuring good food, fellowship and fun on the 29th annual observance of the crime prevention initiative. NNO helps neighbors get to know each other and to partner with police officers, firefighters, City Council and staff to discuss and implement measures that help combat crime.
A Bright Future
In 2012, professionals in all departments honorably represented the City with pride and were recognized by their peers in the region, in the state and across the nation. They include:
*Police Officer of the Year Jessica Berry
*Firefighter of the Year Michael Jaster
*Recreation Superintendent Shane Mize, who won the 2012 National Recreation and Park Association Rising Professional Award
*Director of Municipal Court Services Cathy Haney, who is the Texas Court Clerks Association’s 2012 Gulf Coast Chapter Clerk of the Year
*Street Technician II Lyford “Nickey” Hayes, who was recognized as Operator of the Year—Heavy Equipment by the American Public Works Association
*City Secretary Maria Gonzalez, who became President of the Salt Grass Chapter of the Texas Municipal Clerks Association, Inc.
*The Communications Team won the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers’ Silver Star for Electronic Report, the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors’ second place award for Best Use of Web, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors’ third place award for the video “Bob on Biz—LEED Certified Building”, and the group’s honorable mention award for the “Show Me Missouri City TV Website”.
*The Information Technology Team managed the installation of the Tyler Technologies Enterprise Resource Planning suite of software. It includes efficiency programs for accounting, payroll, human resources, document management, mapping, permits, licenses and code enforcement.
In 2013, Missouri City will continue to provide citizens with excellent programs and services. A committed City Council and award-winning staff will progressively move forward into the future, ensuring the “Show Me City’s” ongoing success.
Residents are encouraged to stay informed through the City’s websites: www.missouricitytx.gov and www.missouricityready.com, the “Show Me Missouri City” citizen newsletter, regular and annual homeowner association meetings, Missouri City television (Ch. 16 on Comcast and Ch. 99 on AT&T U-verse) and 1690 AM.
Families and visitors are invited to have breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner at the City Centre and to maintain a focus on fitness at the Recreation and Tennis Center. And, to make those memorable moments in life even more special, citizens should plan to host their celebrations in one of the City Centre’s elegant rooms—the magnificent Magnolia Ballroom, the amazing Azalea Room or the beautiful Bluebonnet Grille.
Schedule your next tee time at the championship Quail Valley Golf Course.
And, golfers can always enjoy a great game at the renowned Quail Valley Golf Course. For greens fees, visit www.golfquailvalley.com or call 281.403.5910.
As the City partners with the community to start a New Year together; high-standards will continue to be set and met in the “Show Me City”.
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A payroll check from the Grateful Dead, dated November 14, 1966, lies flat against a richly grained wooden surface. Printed with the band’s 710-A Ashbury Street address and the Haight and Belvedere branch of United California Bank, the document makes countercultural legend unexpectedly administrative: signatures, routing numbers, amount, and handwriting turn music history into routine labor.
The overhead framing gives the check the gravity of an artifact while keeping its creases, faded ink, and uneven edges visible. Warm wood surrounds the pale paper like a natural archival mount. Inside Doolan–Larson, the document connects the building’s Haight–Ashbury setting to the neighborhood’s wider network of houses, venues, banks, and working relationships. The photograph interprets history through bureaucracy rather than spectacle. A modest payment slip becomes evidence that even an era remembered through myth was built from addresses, payrolls, offices, and everyday transactions.
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