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Seen from left to right in the front row, starting at the leftmost draped column are, Col. Parker, Gen. Grant, President Johnson, Secty. Gideon Wells, Gen. Sherman and Montgomery Meigs.

flickr.com/photos/193005003@N06/52450144691/

Streetview 2012 Now removed, see www.wearegreenbay.com/news/saving-the-sky-lit-motel-sign/...

Interesting story: Orihime (織姫 Weaving Princess?), daughter of the Tentei (天帝 Sky King, or the universe itself?), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川 Milky Way, lit. "heavenly river"?). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星 Cow Herder Star?) (also referred to as Kengyuu (牽牛?)) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals Matsuri (祭?) is the Japanese word for a festival or holiday. There is a Chinese version of the legend and festival too. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qixi_Festival

from Wikipedia: "Tanabata (七夕 Date: July 7 / August 5–8 (Sendai) Other Names: The Star Festival Information: It originated from a Chinese folk legend concerning two stars-the Weaver Star (Vega) and the Cowherd Star (Altair)-who were said to be lovers who could meet only once a year on the 7th night of the 7th month provided it didn't rain and flood the Milky Way. It was named Tanabata after a weaving maiden from a Japanese legend, named Orihime who was believed to make clothes for the gods. People often write wishes and romantic aspirations on long, narrow strips of coloured paper and hang them on bamboo branches along with other small ornaments." Quite a few Flickr pictures of this festival: www.flickr.com/search?sort=relevance&text=tokyo%20tan...