James Q Thompson

James looked over the field of fresh vegetables and wildflowers that were in full summer bloom.  A cardinal nested in a tree near the field.  He wondered what lay beyond his life in Northern Virginia.  Work had become slower on the farm in recent years and he often thought about what type of life he would have farming in the future.  A part time job at the local movie theatre gave him work and something to fill his days.

 DuWon stood in the joint grocery store and post office primarily covered with straw.  His bicycle was parkd outside ready and waiting for his quick departure.  Sending the telegram quickly,  he looked around the room.  A lemon layer cake and Coke seemed inviting to him.  That was often the type of cooking that he had when visiting his friend James in Northern Virginia.  The telegram was sent quickly with the hope that his friends on the other side of the world would respond quickly.

 Looking over the heavy wooden desk,  the telegram arrived through Special Delivery early Tuesday morning.  It was dated June 18,  1900.  It read "Need rescue in Tientsin."

 Foreign ministers had received word on June 18,  1900 in Peking,  China from the Chinese government that a state of war would soon be in effect.  This war declaration had come in response to the capture of Chinese forts at Taku by foreign powers on Sunday.  The foreign ministers were given 24 hours to leave Peking,  China with the promise of safe passage.  It would only be as far as Tientsin.

 Not soon after DuWon sent his telegram than the ministers met on Tuesday afternoon.  Their joint decision was to refuse to leave Peking,  China.  The empress dowager issued a declaration of war.  It included praise for the "brave followers of the Boxers."

 By Wednesday,  June 20,  the Boxers and Chinese soldiers began a seige of the city of Peking.  The entire city was under fire.  As the sun set on Washington Wednesday afternoon,  there was a scramble to send additional troops to assist in lifting the seige of Peking.

 DuWon lay on the cot in his small grass house.  With his eyes closed but still awake,  he listened to the sound of water from the stream by his house.  The life of a twenty year old on a farm in China in 1900 was much different than that of a twenty year old in Northern Virginia.

 

Under one of these subheadings, it's a good idea to list recent updates to my site so that visitors, especially return visitors, can check out the new stuff first. For example, I could list the date and a brief description of the update.

I could also list updated news about my site's topic. For example, if my site were about a particular sport, I'd could discuss the outcome of a recent competition.

The Boxer Rebellion

I might not want a large amount of text on my home page if I want to guide visitors toward my other pages. Instead of text, I can add others' buttons to this first page, and I'll be rewarded for people who click on the buttons. For example, if a visitor signs up for a Visa using the NextCard button on my site, I earn at least $20!

Even if I don't put much text on my home page, it's a good idea to include hidden tools that will help me promote my site, so people other than my friends and family actually see it. For example, I could add meta tags, which are hidden codes that allow search engines to find my site. I could also install stats and a counter so I know how many people are visiting. If not many are visiting, submitting my site to search engines will guide more traffic to my site.