Don’t worry.  I had to look it up too.  It means a song of praise, tribute or thanksgiving.

While there are extraordinary instances of personal sacrifice and love throughout history, there is, to my way of thinking, no greater example of selfless love for another human being than that of a mother for her child.  At the same time, when one spends the first nine months of life in another human’s womb, can there be any more compelling basis for undying love, respect and loyalty?

The very act of becoming a mother and then carrying out the duties of motherhood is a paradox.  A conscious decision is made by a woman to sacrifice, in many ways, youth and freedom to bring forth another human being.  While the act itself is usually engendered by love for her male counterpart, it is the beginning of a strange, uncharted, yet glorious journey, the result of which is new life and, hopefully, a lifelong manifestation of mutual affection between the parents.  Upon birth, the real paradoxes become more evident.

In May of 1822, Key West was established as a Port of Entry – requiring the salvage of all shipwrecks in surrounding waters to pass through its harbor. Wrecking became the primary business of our island city and by the middle of the 1800’s, it had made Key West the richest city per capita in the United States. Almost two hundred years later, guests at the Key West Shipwreck Treasures Museum can explore four centuries of shipwreck history, beginning with the first Native American salvagers and continuing through Key West’s rich wrecking era to present day. Two floors of shipwreck artifacts ranging from Spanish treasure to exotic cargos from faraway lands are exhibited throughout a re-creation of the 19^th Century warehouse once owned by wrecker tycoon Asa Tift.