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Show Nicknamed "Popcorn" Betsv Riding, daughter of M-S Lionel Riding, writes from her USMC US-MC Women's Reserve camp in North Carolina that she likes it fine there. Said she was very stiff from working cleaning up the barracks bar-racks and pulling weeds. The girls there have given her the name "Popcorn" because she flits around so. and she is also the mascot there as she is both the youngest and the smallest girl in the camp. Dan Hansen returned home Tuesday Tues-day after spending ten days in a Salt Lake hospital. Cpl. Floyd Sampson is now stationed sta-tioned in China. (Continued on Fags 8) Writes from Italy . . . (A letter received by Mr. and Mrs. William T. Stapley from WO Grant A. Greener of Hinckley, son of the late Miles and Martha Catherine Cath-erine Greener, who is in the service serv-ice in Italy.) r Italy, Nov. 27, 1944 Dear Uncle and Aunt, Thanks a million for the very nice parcel. Today is certainly my day for parcels. You see I am taking tak-ing your hint and writing on the stationery you furnished. The best of all are the heavy socks you sent. I had been wishing for some just like them. A pair like them would cost about forty dollars here and that is just a bit tough for my pocket book. I have a pair of English field boots that I use in wet weather. The socks will go very nicely with them. I bought the boots from an English officer in Rome. Yes, I have been traveling again. I spent a few days in Rome, sightseeing sight-seeing and if anything can ever repay me for the prolonged absence ab-sence from my family it is that visit. I saw things that, to me, seemed really fabulous. The first place we went was to the Pantheon, Pan-theon, erected by a man whose name transalated into English, means the builder. It was built 130 B. C. and has survived five earthquakes earth-quakes and three wars that completely com-pletely wrecked the rest of the city. The walls are about forty feet thick. It was supposed to have taken ta-ken thirty thousand slaves five years to build it. The next stop was at St. Peter's Cathedral. Now, there is a building! build-ing! It is large enough to house five churches. The walls and the celings are covered with sculptures sculp-tures and mosaic. The tomb of St. Peter is in the exact center of the church. One thing that impressed me was the so-called treasure rooms. There is enough wealth piled in two little rooms to buy the State of Utah and never be missed. There are candlesticks by the Italian metal worker Cellini, made of solid silver that are five feet high and fourteen inches at the base, cloth woven from pure gold thread: crucifix of solid gold: chalice that would hold a gallor of solid gold. Another piece that impressed me was a cross presented to the Pope by the government of Peru. It is a pure golden cross of about sixteen six-teen inches with an enormous emerald em-erald set in the center of the cross It stands in a solid mass of uncul emeralds about the size of a dinner din-ner plate and a base of pure gold I couldn't even guess its monetary mone-tary value. From there we visited the Vatican Vati-can museum. It is full of peices oi work by all the old masters anc a few of the modern ones. The twe that impressed me most were the Miracle of the fishes by Raphael and the Tranfiguration by Michae: Angelo. There is a piece of art 1 never would tire of looking at. went back to the room severa' times where it hung just to loop at it again. It seemed to me the figures in it were about to speak and I kept wondering what they were going to say. I must have thought if I looked at it long e-nough e-nough I would understand. We then went into the Sistine Chapel, that is where the Popes are elected. It is a hall like structure struc-ture about one hundred feet long forty feet wide and forty-five oi fifty feet high. The walls and ceiling ceil-ing are covered with paintings by Raphael and Angelo. Some critics claim that the work there is ever greater than those I have mentioned, mention-ed, but, to me, after seeing the first they were just paint daubings There is a series running along the apex of the ceiling that is rathei interesting. It is the creation of the earth, then man, woman, temptation. tempta-tion. The last scene was the expulsion ex-pulsion from the Garden of Eden The story goes that Raphael worked work-ed on his back four years painting it. One end was the Judgment by Angelo, depicting the Lord on His Throne passing judgment, some crossing the River Styx into hell on the Lord's left hand and on His right hand the others ascending to Heaven. To me, it was only a symbol sym-bol and held no message as the others had. By that time we were jammed so full of culture that we couldn't take any more so the guide took us out and showed us some of the famous buildings and show places that he had caused to be erected. Now there was a fine piece of boondoggling. I think he must have spent billions of the state's money and not a thing did they get for it it was from the sublime to the ridiculous. From there we look a ride along the Tiber River. We saw Hcdron's tomb a pile of maonary about the size of the Hinckley high school made just to bury one man. We then visiled St. Paul's Cathedra very nice just another an-other church like St. Peter's. From there to the church of Saint Sebastian Se-bastian and through the catacombs cata-combs that were supposed to have hidden Peter and Paul when the Romans wore after them. Very interesting, in-teresting, but by then I was getting get-ting a little "punchy" so I may not have gotten as much out of it as I should have done. We then went to the place where the Germans did th-ir killing kill-ing a faw months ago a very gruesome spot, even now. Then, of course, thore wore the various points of interest that we didn't spend much time at, such as the Coliseum, the Aich of Constantino, iho excavation down 1o the level of Iho first cily, a rifle down a portion of the old Appian Way. on which are still some of the origin-i origin-i al paving blocks. I Well. I have told you of the most I interesting sights and as I am o- bout to got writer's cramp, I will say good night. I Love, Grant. |