This is a bit off topic from what I usually post, but it’s something that I’ve been wondering about for quite some time. My husband and I bought a fixer upper nearly four years ago. We’ve been tossing around the idea of converting it into an Airbnb when we are done renovating. The house is a cute little bungalow in Colorado Springs, and backs up to open space. There is an amazing view of the mountains from our backyard, and the house is centrally located, so stores, the interstate, entertainment, and main thoroughfares are easily accessible.
We had really bad luck renting in the past. When my father-in-law died, we tried renting his house out and it turned into a disaster. The guy turned into a meth addict, and luckily, he wasn’t cooking in the house! Then we tried renting our house in Mississippi, which also turned out badly. The renters tried to become squatters, so it was tricky getting rid of them but we finally did. We decided we were done renting after that.
However, now that we live in the Springs, we have talked to numerous people who also own Airbnb’s. It seems like a primo location, and it’s a hot spot for vacationers year-round. We have to investigate it further, but it certainly seems like a good option.
Here are some links to further inform you about Airbnb options:
It always fascinates me how people can manage to find amazing relics. When we visited Brandy Station and the Graffiti House several years ago, some of the locals told me about how they had almost demolished the old building, but then found invaluable drawings done by both Confederate and Union soldiers. The artwork had been hidden under wallpaper. Fortunately, it was discovered and the house was restored. It is now a museum. While they were restoring it, someone looked in the chimney and found an old bayonet. Amazing! Some of the locals told me how a neighbor had found so many horseshoes that he used them as a foundation for his driveway. What I wouldn’t do to have just one of those old horseshoes!
Graffiti House, Brandy Station, Virginia
Drawing inside Graffiti House
When we lived in Mississippi, several friends told me about how they would go out to where they knew armies had camped. They took their metal detectors and found all sorts of interesting things: from belt buckles to buttons to bullets and then some. One friend told us of how he had been plowing in his field and unearthed a sword in its scabbard. The scabbard was rusted, but the sword was just like brand new. What a find!
I have always wanted to add a cavalry sword to my collection, so I splurged and bought one off of Ebay. It is Confederate and doesn’t have any markings. These swords were called “wrist breakers” because they are so heavy and hard to wield. I don’t know much else about the sword and probably never will, since the seller didn’t know much either, except that it is an M1840 that he purchased at an antique arms show about 5-6 years ago in Virginia. Nevertheless, it’s pretty cool, and I have it displayed on the wall above my work station.
Several years ago, I also aquired this framed specimen at a United Daughters of the Confederacy convention in Richmond. The collection includes camp chest hardware, an R.R. seal, a button back, a shoe buckle, and miscellaneous brass. These items were supposedly excavated from central Virginia from Civil War camps and battlefields. The description is a bit vague, but still interesting.
I would love for you to share any treasures you have discovered. It is always enthralling to discover these artifacts and bring history to life. I’d also like to know how you found your treasures, so please, share away!
It looks like the city of Richmond is in a sticky situation, and Mayor Stoney’s plans have been foiled…at least for the time being. I guess Stoney never got the memo stating that if you take down your monuments, you erase your history, and then history is bound to repeat itself.
JUST TWO LITTLE THINGS
The City of Richmond apparently never has owned one of the Confederate monuments it is trying to get rid of. That’s the statue of Gen. A.P. Hill that has stood since 1892 at what is now the intersection of Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road.
Seeking to match Monument Avenue with its statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, cigarette magnate Lewis Ginter arranged with the Hill family for Gen. Hill’s body to be moved from Hollywood Cemetery and reinterred at the current site, and then commissioned the statue as an oversized grave marker.
Apparently, the City never required Mr. Ginter to give the property or the statue to the city. The City Attorney’s Office conducted an extensive search of property records after receiving a query from city resident Michael Sarahan and, according to Mr. Sarahan, “found no record of a deed or other document conveying property rights to the City.” Mr. Sarahan said that James Nolan, press secretary to Mayor Levar M. Stoney, confirmed that the city has found nothing in the way of a record of a legal transfer.
Mr. Sarahan, a former assistant city attorney, said that finding indicates the statue is not an improper encroachment. For the city, the fact it has no evident ownership means it will need to do one of the following: undertake condemnation proceedings to acquire the property, force the sale for delinquent property taxes and buy it at auction, or find the heirs of the last known owner and have them agree to relinquish their rights.
The Stoney administration had indicated that there is a deal with the family, which has agreed to relocate the statue, pedestal and grave (issue #2). Whether the family will voluntarily proceed with removal now that the City does not own the property (issue #1) is unknown.
(Article courtesy of the Dixie Heritage Newsletter, July 23, 2021 ed.)
ON CAPITOL HILL For the second time in as many years, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw has joined with Democrats to support removing the statues of Confederate leaders from the U.S. Capitol.Crenshaw, of Houston, was among 67 House Republicans, including five from Texas, who voted in favor of a bill that would “remove all statues of individuals who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from display in the United States Capitol, and for other purposes.” All Democrats in Congress voted for the bill, which passed 285 to 120. Statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and other Confederate leaders such as Vice President John C. Calhoun, Arkansas Governor James Paul Clarke would be among those removed if the U.S. Senate follows the House’s action.
FULL LIST OF HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED TO KEEP MONUMENTS
Today is the birthday of the renowned and controversial general of the Confederacy, Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was born on this date in 1821, and died on October 29, 1877. Recently, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the general’s gravesite. He was removed from Forrest Park (renamed Health Sciences Park) along with his wife, Mary Ann. The remains of these two are in the process of being relocated. Here is an update:
NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST
July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877
FORREST REINTERNMENT ANNOUNCED
Announcement from Commander-in-Chief Larry McCluney, Jr.
June 30, 2021
Compatriots,
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Saturday, September 18, 2021, will be the date for the reinternment of the remains General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife MaryAnn Montgomery Forrest. Please make plans to attend. All reenactors and participants will be required to register for this event and follow the strict guidelines that will be forthcoming.
I want to congratulate Lee Miller and the Recovery Crew, and the members of the Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp #215 in Memphis, TN and the legal team of H. Edward Phillips III, Charles G. Blackard III, W. J. “Bo” Ladner III, and Jonathan J. Pledger, on a job well done. We also thank the Forrest Family for allowing us to take part in this momentous occasion and organizing the funeral proceedings. Bear in mind that we are grateful for all that has happened up to this point, and we know much more must be done.
As to the human side, the remains of General and Mrs. Forrest are held in an undisclosed location and later will be transported to an undisclosed location in Middle Tennessee. These sites will be kept in secrecy for security reasons as it is our utmost duty to protect the family, the professionals and work crews involved, as well as the SCV and its members.
Let us always keep in mind that we are honored by the Forrest Family to participate in this solemn occasion. Please do not follow or spread rumors about this event. We will update you as plans are finalized. Fundraising still continues as we raise money for the re-interment of General Forrest and his beloved wife. Please give to make this event happen as we bring one of our heroes’ home to be buried on land less than 30 minutes from where he was born. You can send donations to:
Make checks out to:
Sons of Confederate Veterans
(Put in memo: Forrest Reinterment)
P.O. Box 59
Columbia, TN 38402
Once the funeral is complete, restoring the plaza and remounting the Forrest Equestrian Statue on the grave will occur. This will not be easy nor quick. Much more work lay ahead of us, however, be certain that we will rededicate this plaza to honor the General and his family.
Please be patient with us as you and the entire membership will be informed once all plans are finalized. A website will be forthcoming with all details and information. For now, let us “walk a little prouder and hold our heads higher” in this great victory! God has truly vindicated us in this effort. Let us remember the charge given to us by General Stephen Dill Lee as we continue to press forward.
Last Monday night, the Charlottesville City Council unanamously voted to remove two Confederate statues from the city’s public parks. Now citizens have thirty days to come up with new plans for the statues of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. “According to city documents, Charlottesville is requesting proposals for any museum, historical society, government or military battlefield interested in acquiring the Statues, or either of them, for relocation and placement.”
PUSH TO REMOVE CONFEDERATE STATUES IN CHARLOTTESVILLE BEFORE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLY RALLY
By: Jessie Cohen
Jun 22, 2021
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia — Advocates in Charlottesville, Virginia are working to remove the city’s Confederate statues before the four-year anniversary of the deadly rally later this summer. This comes after the City Council unanimously voted to remove the statues.
Zyahna Bryant, a young activist and change maker, has been trying to make this happen for the last five years. She authored the original petition to take down the Robert E. Lee Statue in 2016.
“These statues are a part of a physical landscape that reinforces some of these underlying notions of slavery, bondage and what it means to be deserving of humanity,” Bryant said. “When I see those statues, it reminds me of an incomplete history.”
Kristin Szakos, a former City Council member says this time, the vote is even more important.
”We’ve been here before. When I was on council, we also voted to remove the statues. Having been here before, I’ll celebrate when the statues are down,” Szakos said. “In Charlottesville, at this moment, it’s particularly important because we have had violence around these statues. We’ve had hundreds of white supremacists and Nazis come into town to defend those statues.”
This year, both a Virginia Supreme Court ruling and a law passed in the legislature cleared the way for the city of Charlottesville to remove the Confederate statues.
“Folks in Charlottesville worked really hard with folks from all over the commonwealth to change that law,” Szakos said.
Bryant is one of those people.
“The August 11th and 12th rallies happened and I recognize that a lot of people were trying to protect this image of Charlottesville that did not exist,” Bryant said. “People are starting to see why they need to come down and it’s sad, in my opinion, that it took a rally where someone lost their life for people to come to that realization.”
Szakos says she first brought the statues up in council in 2012 and says even then, it was long overdue.
“It’s actually been 100 years because there were people when the Jackson statue first went up in 1921 who said it shouldn’t be there,” Szakos said.
The Southern Poverty Law Center started tracking how many symbols of the Confederacy were located in public spaces following the Charleston shooting in 2015. That’s when a white man killed nine Black people during a church bible study. After the Charlottesville rally, they started gathering input from the community.
“We have over 2,000 now, so we started at 1,500 but community member have uncovered even more,” said Lecia Brooks, the SPLC Chief of Staff.
Brooks says in 2020, 94 of the 168 symbols that were removed were confederate monuments; 71 were in Virginia, 24 in North Carolina, and 12 each in Texas and Alabama.
“So, as we make great strides in removing some of these symbols from public space, we’re finding that there are more and more,” Brooks said. But Lecia does recognize the change seen in states rooted in the confederacy.
“Virginia has done, I mean, a complete 360 post the unite the right rally,” Brooks said.
Bryant doesn’t want this momentum to stop at the statues.
“I don’t think that it should stop once the statues are down because again the statues are only the tip of the iceberg,” Bryant said. “We also have the opportunity to rewrite the textbooks. We have the opportunity to create new resources for people to learn from.”
From housing to healthcare to education and more, she says there is so much to tackle. “I feel very confident that this is the turn to a new Charlottesville and to a new central Virginia and to a new country overall, but I think that there will be no real progress and no real healing reconciliation until there is the redistribution of resources an until there is true equity,” Bryant said.
Hamza Ali is ready to get married, fall in love and live happily ever after. The only problem is, he’s about to marry one woman but falls in love with another… So how will he find his happily ever after? After watching his brother’s disastrous love marriage fall to pieces, Hamza decides that the only marriage for him is an arranged one. In Mahrukh, his family finds him the perfect bride. But while Mahrukh may be the perfect bride, it’s her divorced aunt Noorain who is the perfect woman for him. Noorain Alam has never loved or been loved. Until the day her niece gets engaged to a man who is completely out of her reach and yet, he’s everything she never knew she wanted. Blindsided by the strength of emotion they feel for each other, Noorain and Hamza find themselves in a battle for their happiness. But will love win? Or will family and duty stand in its way?
The last thing Hamza Ali wanted, was to be late. But given the traffic and his own state of mind, he knew that it was a foregone conclusion. He just had to grit his teeth and bear it, even as he tamped down on the anxiety spiralling inside.
His phone rang and he answered it on Bluetooth, knowing that Ammi was frantic with worry.
‘I know, I know…’ he said in a placating manner.
‘They’re already here!’ Ammi said in a loud whisper.
‘I’m on my way, Ammi. I’ll be there in another fifteen minutes,’ he said.
‘Fifteen minutes?’ Ammi yelped. ‘But…’
‘I’m driving. I’ll reach sooner if I’m not talking to you.’ Saying so, he disconnected the call and focused on reaching home.
Today, of all days he had a presentation that ran late. He’d tried to explain to his boss that he needed to be home early but of course that hadn’t been possible. Kannan didn’t like to listen to excuses or anything personal when work was involved and Hamza knew better than to tell him the real reason he needed to be home early today.
People were coming to see him.
Yes. A girl’s family actually. He had told Ammi that he was ready for marriage and it would be a good idea if she started looking for potential brides for him. Ammi had been only too pleased to comply.
His twin brother Hamdaan thought he was being an unnecessary martyr by opting for an arranged marriage.
‘What would you know?’ Hamza snapped at him, annoyed. Hamdaan had a love marriage and then, when that fell through, he had an arranged marriage where he fell deeply in love with his wife Ghazal.
This just convinced him that not everyone was cut out for a grand love affair and anyway, this was what his parents wanted. He wanted to give them that happiness. At the cost of your own, Hamdaan asked.
‘What guarantee is there that a love marriage will be better?’ Hamza asked him. Hamdaan nodded.
‘I know, but…’
‘And you did have an arranged marriage with Ghazal and you two seem to be just fine,’ he reminded him.
‘Well, that’s because I got incredibly lucky,’ Hamdaan commented, a smile on his face as he thought of his wife probably.
Hamza glanced at his face in the rear-view mirror at a traffic signal and sighed. There wasn’t going to be any time to even wash his face, let alone shower, if the girl’s family had already reached home. Ammi had been slightly put out when she heard that they wanted to vet him first, and if he was a good enough candidate, she and Ghazal Bhabhi could go and see the girl and take things forward.
‘That’s how everyone does it these days,’ the broker aunty informed Ammi. The broker aunty who brought the rishta was a fascinating specimen, with her smartphone full of biodatas and photos of potential brides and bridegrooms. Hamza had looked at her paraphernalia, eyes wide that day when she wanted to ‘see’ him before finding the right rishta.
‘First they see the boy and if he’s good, then you can see the girl. That way, the girl is not unnecessarily exposed, na?’ she asked, moving the paan she’d been chewing, around inside her mouth.
‘Fine, Arifa Apa. Whatever you say,’ Ammi said.
Now, he felt the slightest bit of apprehension inside when he wondered about this stranger who could possibly become a part of his life soon. But he had wanted this, right? In fact, he had gone on to convince Hamdaan to get married again so that it would clear the way for him to get married.
His phone rang again.
‘Ammi,’ he groaned out aloud but then saw that it wasn’t his mother but it was Ghazal.
‘Yes, Bhabhi,’ he answered as the car moved forward in the traffic finally. It felt odd, calling her Bhabhi since she was so much younger than him but it added to the decorum and formality in their relationship, which was something he liked.
‘How far away from home are you?’ she asked softly.
‘Around ten minutes, tops,’ he said.
‘Okay, so don’t park in front of the house. Park behind, and I’ll be waiting near the kitchen door. You can hop inside from there and freshen up in your room, Hamza Bhai,’ she said.
‘Oh. Oh thank god!’ he muttered, feeling slightly better.
‘Don’t thank me yet. Ammi is having kittens and puppies and she won’t rest easy until you’re here,’ Ghazal said.
‘You hold her off, Bhabhi!’ he said as he stepped down on the accelerator to reach home as soon as he could.
Twenty minutes later, he emerged from his room, his face still shiny with water droplets. He took the towel from Ghazal gratefully and scrubbed his face and she winced.
‘It’s your face. Not a dirty vessel and Scotch Brite,’ she admonished him as she took the towel from his hands.
Ammi didn’t know that he was back home yet and she looked at him surprised when she came out from the kitchen, just as he was tucking his shirt inside properly. He had barely had a chance to look at himself in the mirror and he was worried about making the wrong sort of impression but Ghazal assured him that he looked fine.
‘When did you…where were…’ she trailed off.
‘Ask Bhabhi,’ he said with a smile as he kissed his mother soundly on her cheek. She did some nazar utarofy thing for him and smiled at Ghazal, even as she put her hand on her chest.
‘Go now,’ she said. Nodding, he walked into the living room where Hamdaan and Abba were speaking to the men who had come to see him.
‘Sorry, I’m a bit late,’ Hamza said as he walked up and shook hands with the three men who stood up when they saw him.
The men looked from Hamdaan to him and one of them smiled. ‘Amazing how much you two look alike,’ he said.
Hamza nodded and then, his father indicated that he should sit down on the sofa. The men all sat down and they started talking.
The mad pounding in his chest finally eased down enough and he almost relaxed until he remembered why he was here.
The middle-aged man in the centre, wearing the white shirt with black stripes, left untucked was apparently the bride’s father. He wore a namaz topi on his head and he had a beard. Hamza smiled at him as he spoke, but he was instantly curious about the girl’s family and what sort of person she was.
He also didn’t know her name yet. A droplet of sweat trickled down his back in a straight line when he realised the enormity of what he was getting into. He didn’t even know the name of the girl he was willing to marry, let alone what she looked like. And somehow, he felt that if he asked her name, it would put him and his family on the back foot. He should have asked Ghazal, he realised.
‘Have some tea,’ one of the men offered to him and he nodded. He leaned forward and picked up a tea cup and his gaze met his brother’s, who lifted an eyebrow sardonically.
The two of them were connected intrinsically, as they were twins and there were times when they could have a complete non-verbal exchange between them and no one would be the wiser.
You asked for this.
Hamza nodded slightly and he looked up at his brother defiantly. Yeah. So what?
Just wondering if you know what you’re getting into.
Shut up.
Hamdaan hid his smile as he sipped his tea and mentally, Hamza flipped him off but responded to the questions being asked of him.
When the ordeal was finally over, the three men got up and shook hands with him once more. They shook hands with Hamdaan and the bride’s father even hugged Abba as they left.
‘Satisfied?’ Hamdaan turned to him as soon as the men departed.
‘Yes,’ Hamza said, rolling his eyes. Abba returned just then before the two of them could get into an argument.
‘They’ve asked us to come and see the girl tomorrow,’ Abba announced, a smile on his face. ‘Your Ammi and Ghazal will be going.’
Hamza’s heart pounded again. It was finally happening.
‘What’s her name?’ he asked and Hamdaan gave a short laugh.
‘Not one person back in college would have believed you to be capable of this,’ he said.
‘Of what? And you wouldn’t know since you didn’t study with me,’ Hamza retorted.
‘Her name is Mahrukh,’ Ghazal said softly as she came into the living room. Hamdaan beamed at her as she went and sat down beside him. One of the girls who worked in the house followed her and she collected the tea cups and deposited them on the tray.
‘Like Shahrukh?’ Hamza asked sceptically.
Ammi chuckled. ‘No. Mahrukh is a girl’s name. It means someone who looks like the moon.’
‘It’s a beautiful name,’ Ghazal assured him.
And what of the girl, he wondered. Was she beautiful too?
About the Author:
Andaleeb Wajid is the author of 27 published novels and she writes across different genres such as romance, YA and horror. Her horror novel It Waits was shortlisted at Mami Word to Screen 2017 and her Young Adult series, The Tamanna Trilogy has been optioned for screen by a reputed production house. Andaleeb’s novel When She Went Away was shortlisted for The Hindu Young World Prize in 2017. Andaleeb is a hybrid author who has self-published more than 10 novels in the past two years.
I have to wonder why this has been allowed to happen, but apparently, the governor of Virginia is hell bent on erasing every reminder of the Civil War in that state. It is such a shame that it literally makes me want to cry. These people should be ashamed of themselves for erasing American history, but for some reason, they feel justified to do so, and are being allowed to demolish our heritage. It is my understanding that the majority of students at VMI revere General Jackson and had no desire to get rid of his statue on the school grounds or his name all over campus.
I’d like to share some posts from people who are on Civilwartalk.com.
“I was walking around the outside of barracks at VMI yesterday and was pleased to see Little Sorrel’s grave is still intact and untouched. It was difficult seeing the empty space where Jackson’s statue used to reside, but unfortunately, the removal of all things “Jackson” from VMI is a done deal. For now, his four esteemed cannons, known on post as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John still remain in the former shadow of his statue.”
“Little Sorrel’s stuffed hide is still on display in the cadet museum beneath “Memorial Hall”, formerly known as Jackson Memorial Hall until a couple weeks ago.”
J.D.R. Hawkins 