There are a number of ways to go on this one….
This little piggie has a lot of protection. Chicken wire and a cocktail umbrella. For the full version of this project, see here: “June Bride“.
The “Diefenbunker“… Canada’s formerly top secret air-raid shelter designed to house the government, officials, and military…. while the rest of us, presumably, fried. With the end of the Cold War, the Diefenbunker is open to the curious public. It is located just outside Carp, Ontario, near Ottawa.
"The Diefenbunker"
This is the “technology” that changed my life… I was a small child when the Cuban Missile Crisis began. Air-raid siren tests screamed out with regularity. We had a bomb shelter in our basement. Fear of the “Red Threat” was jammed down our throats. I lived with nightly and terrifying nightmares of war and death throughout my entire childhood. Even today, the sound of an air-raid siren makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. This disused siren sits at the entrance to the “Diefenbunker”.
"Air Raid Siren"
The Diefenbunker Poem:
In Bermuda shorts,
pushing strollers and giggling, tourists rush to the next exhibit.
Hoping to beat the traffic
and get to Walmart before it closes.I, on the other hand, recall the fallout shelter in our basement
and cold-sweat nights (and days),
waiting for the bomb to drop.
I can’t help thinking that the bomb-shelters, air raid sirens, and assurances that “drop and cover” would protect us amounted to little more than chicken wire and cocktail umbrellas….
Mudpuddle 
Marites said,
April 26, 2009 at 3:56 pm
the chicken wire and umbrella pic is quite funny 🙂 I would love to visit Diefenbunker..it must be interesting to see inside.
Julie said,
April 25, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Interesting!!
healingmagichands said,
April 25, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Mine is up too. I like the piggie with the cocktail umbrella! You can bet NO ONE will copy that!
sandi @ the whistlestop cafe said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Here’s a tid bit of info…
My dad was flying U2’s over cuba. Little did we know then that he would be a part of the history books.
Candi said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Great takes on the theme. I love the piggy:)
Happy weekend.
mudhooks said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I love her, too. Sadly, she had a mishap and broke her head before she ended up being posed for posterity. She was a stocking-stuffer many years ago.
Tammy said,
April 25, 2009 at 10:37 am
Great pictures for this week’s theme!
Randi said,
April 25, 2009 at 9:46 am
Great takes on this week´s theme.
Have a nice weekend.
Gigi said,
April 25, 2009 at 8:55 am
Great takes on this weeks theme!
Brita said,
April 25, 2009 at 5:38 am
Great take on the theme and interesting story behind the bunker.
Thanks for visiting too.
mudhooks said,
April 25, 2009 at 8:22 am
To be honest, it only occurred to me as I was putting the captions on.
I was reminded by the often repeated assurance from the US government that an old door and a few shovels full of dirt would protect you from fallout. Who did they think they were fooling? Of course, many DID believe them.
Tara R. said,
April 25, 2009 at 5:31 am
Excellent picks for this week’s theme. The history lesson is one we should all remember.
My pix are here: If Mom Says Ok ~ PhotoHunt
HOOTIN* ANNI said,
April 25, 2009 at 3:48 am
Awesome. This is excellent.
Here’s MINE Happy Saturday to you.
Kelly said,
April 25, 2009 at 2:51 am
What an excellent parallel. An interesting post.
My mother-in-law was in Holland during WW2, then moved to Australia as a young girl.
One day one of her kids played a record with the sounds of bombing and airplanes flying overhead. She rushed into the room, hysterically yelling to quickly take cover. All of her sense of logic was taken over by that primal fear of being under attack. Memories are powerful.
mudhooks said,
April 25, 2009 at 11:50 am
Many years ago in Toronto, back in 1978, I think, long after air raid sirens stopped sounding, here, a siren went off. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I was with a friend and said “I haven’t heard one of those in years and it STILL gives me the willies.”
“What does?” she asked….
She had never heard one, although she was only a few years younger than I was. She was mystified. She didn’t even recall hearing one in a movie or on TV.
They tested the sirens all the time when I was a kid and every school yard had one, as well as on top of government buildings and other public buildings.
Up until recently, there was a disused one standing near a local shopping mall. It might still be there. I haven’t looked recently.
liz said,
April 25, 2009 at 1:53 am
A great post. I heard a radio programme the other day about bunkers for the essential services. Scary times.
And regarding your comment on tnchick’s post, we used to use coconut oil to ‘fry’ ourselves!
mudhooks said,
April 25, 2009 at 11:51 am
Imagine going to work every day, knowing that you would have to leave your family while you ran to the safety of a bunker because it was your “job”?
JyLnC said,
April 25, 2009 at 1:51 am
I remember having to practice crouching in the halls at school during disaster drills. I thought at the time it wasn’t much protection from disaster but we still crouched.
Stop by and see mine if you have the chance.
JyLnC’s Photo Hunt
SnoopyTheGoon said,
April 25, 2009 at 1:42 am
A great post. I agree that all these makeshift shelters were more of a psychological value than anything else. The missile crisis, however, was quite real…
Have a great weekend!
Mariposa said,
April 25, 2009 at 1:16 am
i’m really enjoying the mix of this week’s theme…and this one is just enjoyable.
Happy weekend.
calonyddaear said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:57 am
You are so right.
jams O'Donnell said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:48 am
Great take on the theme, I am impressed t tho well that piggy is protected!
We have a secret bunker clost to us that is open as a toruist attraction (including signs saying “this way to the secret nuclear bunker!”), Happy weekend!
mudhooks said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:51 am
My friend who passed away two weeks ago only found out a few years ago that her father, who was in the Canadian Military, worked for YEARS at the Diefenbunker. Had nuclear war broken out, he would have been down there and his family would be on their own.
srp said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:28 am
I remember those drills in school too, getting down and under the desk.. who are they kidding… let’s hope someone in power has at least some common sense these days, though I am not hopeful they do. Mine is up here.
mudhooks said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:53 am
Well, I know Obama is trying to do what no president has done before and get rid of the US’s stockpiles.
I recall someone saying that nuclear arms proliferation is like two guys standing up to their armpits in gasoline and arguing about who has more matches…
RJ Flamingo said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:20 am
That about sums it up, doesn’t it ? Thanks for sharing…and for visiting!
Have a good weekend!
upcountrysmiles said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:20 am
Very interesting post for this week’s PH theme.
Please stop by http://upcountrysmiles.com.
Aloha,
Cindy O
Becky said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:16 am
I like seeing everyone’s different takes on the theme.
Mine is posted here.
azahar said,
April 25, 2009 at 12:10 am
And the piggy is definitely having more fun.