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When the developer and founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona – Robert McCulloch – wanted to draw attention to the project in 1968, he made an outrageous purchase. He bought the London Bridge – dismantled it and hauled it to the fledgling Arizona community, where it stands today.
It wasn’t as if we needed a bridge back then. Sure, Lake Havasu City is located on a lake, but the island where the bridge takes visitors, was once a peninsula, with a perfectly good road, leading on and off the mainland. McCulloch had to dredge around the peninsula, to transform it into an island. After all, if you are going to haul a hundred and thirty plus years old bridge across several oceans and through the Panama Canal, the bridge would look pretty silly sitting in the middle of the desert leading nowhere.
That bridge thing seems to have worked out for McCulloch. While it didn’t get my family to Havasu (we came pre-bridge) – I know of many Havasu residents who were originally lured to the area after hearing of the bridge.
Now we come to Jeff Bezos. Personally, I’m fine with Amazon’s continued success. After all, my primary source of income comes from Amazon book sales under my McIntyre pen name. Although, I find it hard to believe drones are going to be playing a significant role in delivering those books in the future.
Aviation regulations, public outcry, safety concerns – not to mention this mode of delivery is just for those within a ten mile radius – makes one wonder if this news is not so much about a revolutionary new delivery system, destined to put FedEx and UPS outa business – but a clever marketing ploy.
Notice it was unveiled the day before Cyber Monday. Bezons’ announcement, every bit as outrageous as McCullouch’s bridge purchase, has certainly driven attention Amazon’s way.
It is that time of year again – time for pumpkin bread! My sister, Lynn, has an amazing recipe that’s earned her a blue ribbon at the County fair. I will confess, I’ve made a few changes to the recipe, for health reasons. Instead of oil, I use apple sauce. Instead of white flour I use white whole wheat, and this last time, instead of sugar I used half sugar and half Stevia. Of course, I’m not sure how healthy Stevia is, but it did cut the carbs and sugar significantly and it didn’t leave a yucky aftertaste like some sugar substitutes. Instead of loaves, I made muffins, which significantly cut down the baking time. When using apple sauce, instead of opening a jar and wasting some of it, buy a package of plain applesauce sold in individual 4-ounce portions. Just two of these are needed in a batch of pumpkin bread. I buy mine at a dollar store – and get a six-pack of plain applesauce for just a buck.
4 eggs (blended)
1 can of pumpkin (15-ounce can)
1 cup applesauce (or two 4-ounce single servings)
2/3 cup water
3 cups white whole wheat
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups Stevia
In a large bowl, blend together the first four ingredients. Sift in the dry ingredients, blend well. The recipe makes three loaves, or three dozen muffins. The original recipe calls for baking the loaves at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. I didn’t try making loaves with the Stevia, but from past experience, it seems baked items with Stevia seems to take less baking time, I would keep a close eye on the bread; you don’t want to over bake. As for muffins, they take about 15 minutes at 350 degrees, but again, I would keep a close eye on them, and pull earlier if needed. Use the old fashioned toothpick in the middle to check for doneness. If the toothpick comes up clean, remove the bread or muffins from the oven.
Enjoy, and happy fall!
Hint: When using white whole wheat instead of white flour, after sifting not all the flour will go through the sifter. I simply dump what’s leftover into the batter and blend.