בסייד

The following link takes you to the first section that appeared on NBC Dateline with Maria Shriver as a tribute to Flight 93 hero Tom Burnett I wrote about in my previous Blog-

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=394720568176392

That larger-than-life figure is Paul Bunyan which I still remember to this very day when our family traveled to Brainerd, Minnesota. It seems that was one place every family wanted to visit because of the many things we were able to do. But there is no doubt that the 26-foot massive talking figure of Paul Bunyan is the highlight of that trip and stands out in my memory even today. It is in an amusement park named Paul Bunyan Land.

As people enter, Paul Bunyan welcomes them by name. That was the case when our family visited more than 60 years ago.

Did Paul Bunyan Really Exist?

Commentators such as Carleton C. Ames, Marshall Fitwick, and particularly Richard Dorson cite Paul Bunyan as an example of “fakelore“, a literary invention passed off as an older folktale. They point out that most books about Paul Bunyan are composed almost entirely of elements with no basis in folklore, especially those targeted at juvenile audiences.  

At the same time, several authors have come forward to propose that the legend of Paul Bunyan was based on a real person. D. Laurence Rogers and others have suggested a possible connection between Paul Bunyan tales and the exploits of French-Canadian lumberjack Fabian “Saginaw Joe” Fournier (1845–1875).^[27] From 1865 to 1875, Fournier worked for the H. M. Loud Company in the Grayling, Michigan area.^[5] James Stevens in his 1925 book Paul Bunyan makes another unverified claim that Paul Bunyan was a soldier in the Papineau Rebellion named Paul Bon Jean,^[28] and this is occasionally repeated in other accounts.

Certain commentators acknowledge that they have not yet succeeded in definitively finding out whether Bunyan was based on an actual person or was wholly mythical. They have noted, however, that some of the older lumberjacks whom they interviewed claimed to have known him or members of his crew, and the supposed location of his grave was actually pointed out in northern Minnesota.^[4] Bunyan’s extreme gigantism was a later invention, and early stories either do not mention it or, as in the Stewart and Watt paper, refer to him as being about seven feet tall.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are the names of a pair of large statues of the American folk hero Paul Bunyan and his ox, located in Bemidji, Minnesota. This roadside attraction has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988.

This pair of statues are said by the Kodak Company to be the “second most photographed statues in the United States”, behind Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.^[4]

What Is The Moral Of Paul Bunyan And Babe The Blue Ox?

Babe the Blue Ox and the giant Paul Bunyan conquer many challenges and help the settlers who are following them. There is strong focus on law and order. That is the legacy all heroes of Flight 93 leave behind – they prevented a terrorist attack on Washington DC and helped keep the symbol of law-and-order functioning.