Latvia 1912: Ed Leedskalnin, 26 was jilted on the eve of his wedding by his 16- year-old fiancee, Agnes Scuffs. Broken-hearted, Ed wandered, visiting Canada and Europe before settling in Florida City, near Miami.
During his wandering in Europe, Ed noticed one outstanding feature-the land was covered with castles. This gave him a romantic notion to build a castle for Agnes and to send her pictures of it in hopes that she might come to Florida and marry him. Working only from midnight to sunrise so that no one could see how he moved the great coral stones weighing more than those of the Great Pyramid, Ed built Coral Castle for Agnes. When he finished it, he gave tours, telling his visitors that he was "Waiting For Agnes."
During the late tea-time of my insomnia last night, this story touched me. Next time I am down in sunny Florida, I hope to my best to visit this monument to Ed Leedskalnin's monument to his love Agnes. More info here.
Incidentally, I also learned that the Coral Castle (which was never called that while Mr. Leedskalnin built and lived in his home is not made out of Coral, but, rather, Oolitic Limestone.
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