Happy Birthday, Ben

7 February 2015

Dear Family,

We just read of a new book out for teens by Ben Carson "You Have a Brain" with 8 ideals to find success in life:  Talent, Honesty, Insight, Niceness, Knowledge, Books, In-depth learning and God (T.H.I.N.K.  B.I.G.).  And to our Ben - you are using all these ideals in your work as a fireman, counselor in the Bishopric and as a son, brother, husband and Dad.  Thanks for thinking big.... and have a wonderful birthday!  We love you.  

Every day we have a fun bus ride to work.  We get off at the light on Avenida Brasil and then walk to Plaza Anibal Pinto and up that cerro to the cemetery.  At that light is the 8 and 11ª Compañía (Cía) de Bomberos.  

11ª Compañía (Cía) de Bomberos.  

Members still talk about housing families at the Stake Center and our ward building; and the many volunteer hours spent by them and the entire community. Ramaditas, Rocuant and Cuesta Colorada are in our ward boundaries.

 
From newspaper reports:  “The Great Fire of Valparaíso (Gran Incendio de Valparaíso) started on 12 April 2014 at 16:40 local time, in the hills of the city of Valparaíso. The fire has destroyed at least 2,500 homes, leaving 11,000 people homeless. An additional 6,000 people were evacuated from the city….The city is built on a series of steep hills, separated by narrow winding streets, making the job of firefighters all the more difficult, says the BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago…. The wildfire re-activated in areas of Cerro Ramaditas, Rocuant, and Cuesta Colorada on 13 April, between 20:45 and 21:15 local time; the outbreaks of fire left 100 additional destroyed houses.  Two fire engines collided as they were reaching the area, leaving two injured firefighters…. Large parts of Valparaiso are without electricity, and residents were said to be suffering from smoke inhalation….The fire raced down the hills and destroyed everything in its path, Miguel Ramirez told the AFP news agency…. This is the second emergency that President Bachelet has had to face in the first month of her second term in office, after an 8.2 earthquake hit northern Chile on 1 April….Some 1,200 firefighters are battling the large blaze…”.  

We took the picture of houses on the cerro and the one with  smoke from a small brush fire a few weeks ago as we left the cemetery.  The other three are from news reports of the fire last April.

On Avda. Brasil is the British Arch, the big rubber tree, then the Monument to Lord Cochrane and at light is 
11ª Compañía (Cía) de Bomberos.  Then we go to Plaza Anibal Pinto past the Neptune Fountain and up.

The British Arch (Arco Británico) is a monument on Avenida Brasil, in Valparaíso, Chile.   It was donated to the town in 1910 by the British community there to mark the centenary of the Independence of Chile.  [September 18, 1810 is when O'Higgins joined the revolt against the then French dominated Spanish government.  This date is now recognized as Chile's Independence Day.]

Monument to Lord Cochrane

Monument to Lord Cochrane (a Scottish naval flag officer of the Royal Navy. He was a daring and successful captain of the Napoleonic Wars, leading the French to nickname him Le Loup des Mers ('The Sea Wolf'). He was dismissed - later reinstated - from the Royal Navy in 1814, following a conviction for fraud on the Stock Exchange). In the 1820s he was put in control of the Chilean Navy by General Bernardo O’Higgins during their war of independence and also contributed to independence for Peru.

We receive a greeting every morning as he sets up shop behind Fuente de Neptuno -
our last stop before climbing the hill and the 99 stairs to work!