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Scarecrow

In case you're wondering, according to the research I conducted the characters above THIS  WAY translate word for word to "This way."

I imagine the Scarecrow telling Dorothy, "Take the fork."

This is a photo of that blood relative, taken in November 2002.

How old do you think she is?

In the un-retouched photograph at left above she's 70 years old.  She flies planes, she writes books, and she has terrible handwriting, so I don't really know what the other side of the This Way postcard says.

Her books so far are

ZERO 3 BRAVO: Solo Across America in a Small Plane (1994, ISBN 978-0671892081) and

ICE: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance (2007, ISBN 978-0226304960).

Update of February 11, 2011: With regard to Ice, you can listen to today's podcast of an NPR Science Friday segment in which Mariana discusses with host Ira Flatow the subject of -- guess what? -- ice.

And she's working on another book tentatively titled Breath: A Fascinating Rhythm for her publisher Knopf.

The second photo shows a much older but no less young-looking Mariana with her long-time love, Jamie, shot for an Irish Spring commercial.

Update of March 23, 2012: Mariana died today.  She led a full and worthwhile life.  You can read two obituaries here and here.

My dear Aunt Sue, who gets lovelier every day, is the founder of and the force behind The Teel Institute.

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