Letter

Mt. McKinley, Alaska

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Cyd Gillett, Daniel Sadoff, Abe Sadoff (15), Lydia Sadoff (9). We just completed an Alaska family vacation and, of course, we took The Rake along. We landed on Ruth, a glacier named after the daughter of a man, Frederick Cook, who falsely claimed to have both been the first person to scale Denali (Mt. McKinley) … Read more

Istanbul, Turkey

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Annie, a student at Wheaton College, in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Author(s) and Location: By Annie Belz

Devil's Island, French Guiana

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Bob Sater, of Apple Valley, writes: This picture was taken in a solitary confinement cell on Ile Royale (Devil’s Island) French Guiana. It was in the upper 80% humidity with the temperature in the low 90’s. Author(s) and Location: Bob Sater

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

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Janella and Adam write: On a recent trip to Playa del Carmen for our friends wedding, we brought along our February issue of your magazine to read on the beach. I think our friends got a big laugh out of the fact that we wanted them to take our picture reading The Rake so we … Read more

Kruger National Park, South Africa

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Safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa. “That’s a giraffe in the background!” Author(s) and Location: Barb Aretz, Karla Sand, Ann Seifert, Donna Stohlmann

Tikal, Guatemala

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Loren, Sarah, and Jane Benson Turner at Mayan ruins in Tikal, Guatemala. Author(s) and Location: Loren, Sarah, and Jane Benson Turner

C'Est La Vie

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I agree that it is ironique to unveil an establishment eighteenth-century period room at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on Bastille Day; a day on which the establishment was overthrown [Broken Clock, July]. But that was 216 years ago. Sure, the MIA can use that day to celebrate all things French, but most of the … Read more

Poet Prejudice

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Perverse it is to deny the post of the poet laureate [Good Intentions, July], which began in England with the bard. Queen Victoria appointed William Wordsworth as poet laureate after he had retired to his garden. He refused. She then sent out the prime minister to persuade him, and during one of her galas, Wordsworth … Read more