Coral Castle, One of The World’s Biggest Mysteries in Homestead, Florida Yet to Be Solved, A heartbreaking love story / 佛羅里達霍姆斯特德珊瑚城堡 – 跟金字塔一樣未解之謎的景點、一個淒美的愛情故事

Coral Castle, One of The World’s Biggest Mysteries in Homestead, Florida Yet to Be Solved, A heartbreaking love story / 佛羅里達霍姆斯特德珊瑚城堡 – 跟金字塔一樣未解之謎的景點、一個淒美的愛情故事

(中文版向下看 / Scroll Down for Chinese version)
It was July, 2016,
I had just run so many errands setting up his business for him at the Miami Swim Week. We started on July 13, 2016, from New York and worked our asses through Florida. It was business meetings after business meetings and countless sleepless nights. My legs were as if the timed I’d dislocated my knee, even before my stroke, I was walking as if I was dragging a heavy shot put, I weighed less than 90 lbs, I’d complained to him that my body couldn’t take heavy workloads like this, it’s simply not how God built my body. He looked at me with those puppy eyes again, ” I can’t do this without you, please babe, I need you to look professional…or else those white people won’t take me seriously… they’ll just think I’m a low-class China man… You’re more white-washed, you know how to make them happy…. please baby, do this for our future…” as if I was abandoning him. I am professional. I had a master’s degree acquired from the most prestigious fashion school in Milan, Italy. All he cared about was money. He needed camouflage to trick his business partners into doing business with him. That’s when I come in. I’m not the brightest; I can’t talk money because I don’t care about money. All I know is what I spent years studying: fashion. I wasn’t going to ditch him when he needed me, so despite extreme fatigue and exhaustion, I sucked it up and dragged my feet through the week like a zombie.
It was our last day in Miami. The entire week had been pure work, no pleasure. He’d scheduled business meetings after business meetings back to back (pro bono on my side, may I add?). As always, I was browsing through Instagram during my travels to discover sites that are worth visiting. I stumbled upon a beautiful Coral Castle.

 

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中文版 / Chinese version:
時間是2016年的7月，我們從紐約一直忙到邁阿密。為了陪他做生意、我們在邁阿密游泳時裝週不眠不休的應酬、工作。我已經一個禮拜吃不好、睡不好，累得跟一條狗一樣，我的腿好比當初膝蓋脫臼時一樣沉重，走路像拖著鉛球一樣，每走一步都覺得我要垮了。我的體重不到 90 磅，屢屢跟他抱怨我的身體太小隻，無法承擔這樣不眠不休的工作，老天爺並不是這樣創造我的。他立刻用「鞋貓劍客」般的無辜雙眼淚汪汪的看著我「寶貝，沒有妳的專業我做不到，那些白人只會覺得我是個沒水準的中國佬，不會把我當一回事，你思想這麼白人，只有妳知道怎麼逗他們開心。拜託寶貝，為了我們的未來。。。」。沒有我赴義大利米蘭讀全球最好的服裝設計碩士學位，他真的無法，外國人雖然做生意不像他一樣不顧道德、只往「錢看」，但也沒笨到資金都被完全沒有專業知識的「番仔」騙去。交往四年，我不可能在他最需要我的時候棄他於不顧，所以儘管極度疲憊，我還是像殭屍一樣硬撐過這一週，這一趟工作量大到我們連一個景點都沒時間去。我這個體弱、免費的義工終於撐到最後一天，覺得都來這麼一趟了，就這樣回去有點可惜。於是我照常拿起我的手機滑ＩＧ，心想滑滑其他人的旅遊美照、過過乾癮也好。我滑到了一張位於霍姆斯特德（ Homestead)前所未見、美到讓人無法抗拒的「珊瑚城堡」。

“It’s our last day. Can we please just visit one site before we leave? I don’t want to come here for nothing.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Here,” I showed him the photo I stumbled upon on Instagram.
“How far is it?”
I checked Uber; it was about a 50-minute ride.
“No, it’s too far!”
“But I’ve been working my ass off for your business for the past week. You don’t even pay me! I just need to see something pretty!”
“No!”
“Fine! I’ll go by myself then.”
I took his American Express and stormed out of the hotel.

 中文版 / Chinese version:
「親愛的，這是我們的最後一天。反正今天也沒事，我們可以在離開之前造訪一個景點嗎？一站就好。」
「妳想去哪裡？」
「這裡。」我秀給他看我在 Instagram 上滑到的照片。
「這有多遠？」
「我查優步（ＵＢＥＲ），車程 約需50 分鐘。」
「不行，太遠了！」
「但我已經為你的生意拼死拼活、無償的忙了一週，拜託啦！我只想看一個景點就好。」
「不行！」
「那我自己去！」於是我拿著他的美國運通卡氣噗噗的衝出酒店。

Coral Castle – A 50-Minute Trip from Miami to Homestead, Well Worth the ride! / 珊瑚城堡 – 從邁阿密50分鐘的旅程，超值得一遊！

I got to admit, though, the Uber ride was quite long to the point where I got claustrophobic, but the visit was worth it.
Coral Castle is a mysterious historic megalithic landmark built with sculpted blocks of ancient corals, some weighing 30 tons. This landmark was built by Edward Leedskalnin initially in the 1920s in Florida City, then moved single-handedly by Leedskalnin to its current 10-acre location in Homestead, Florida, in the mid-1930s. Leedskalnin who was barely over 5-foot (150cm) tall,  carved, moved, and hoisted these massive, multi-ton stones single-handedly without using mortar or modern machinery.

 中文版 / Chinese version:
但我不得不承認，這趟Uber車程長到我幽閉恐懼症發作，但我看到的是非常值得的。「珊瑚城堡」是一座神秘、具有有歷史、完全用珊瑚石堆砌、建造的巨石地標，有些珊瑚石甚至重達 30 噸。 這座地標起初由愛德華利茲卡寧（Edward Leedskalnin） 於 1920 年代建造於佛羅里達市，直到 1930 年代中期再由 Leedskalnin 單槍匹馬地搬到了目前位於佛羅里達州霍姆斯特德、佔地 10 英畝的位置。 身高不到 5 英尺（150 公分）、體重不到100磅（45公斤）的愛德華，在還沒有砂漿或現代機械的時代獨自雕刻、拖吊、搬移這些巨石。

Coral Castle, A Heartbreaking Love Story / 珊瑚城堡 – 一個令人心碎的愛情故事

Leedskalnin was an introvert, possibly the result of a heartbreak by whom he referred to as his “Sweet Sixteen,” his 16-year-old ex-fiancée and lover named Agnes Skuvst, who broke his heart and whom he spent the rest of his life building this castle to dedicate to for them to live together until he died in 1951. He’d work mysteriously at night to avoid anyone from seeing how he moved the stones. Despite only having a 4th-grade education, one can only say that Leedskalnin was a self-taught genius engineer.

 中文版 / Chinese version:
可能是被他當初所稱，被為自己的「甜蜜十六歲」傷得太深。心碎的結果導致Leedskalnin 變成一位低調、性格內向的人。愛德華的「甜蜜十六歲」，指的是他年僅 16 歲名叫Agnes Skuvst的舊情人及前未婚妻。她悔婚、離開他時傷透他的心，使他用餘生建造這座珊瑚石城堡，希望藉此挽回她，讓將來的他們住在一起。愛德華耗費超過28年的時間建造他「愛的城堡」，直到他1951 年去世。他當時只在夜晚、沒有人看得見的時候神秘地工作，所以他當初是如何移動石頭的至今仍是一個謎。愛德華的教育程度只有小學四年級，只能說他是一位自學成材的天才工程師。

How He Did It? Laws of Magnetism, Egyptian Pyramid Construction Techniques? / 他是怎麼做到的？ 磁性定律? 埃及金字塔建造技術？

“Magnetic Current” by Edward Leedskalnin

When asked how he moved his massive structures, he’d simply say he understood the laws of weight and leverage and how the pyramids in Eygpt were built. He published booklets, including one entitled “Magnetic Current,” explaining the laws of magnetism that allowed him to build Coral Castle. To avoid people from watching, he would work mysteriously at night. Leedskalnin continued to work on his castle until he died in 1951.

中文版 / Chinese version:
Leedskalnin很愛看書，當被問及他是如何移動他的巨大石頭時，他只會淡淡的說，他了解重量和槓桿的定律，以及埃及的金字塔是如何建造的。 他曾出版一些小冊子，包括一本書名為「Magnetic Current」(磁性定律)的冊子，其中解釋他能夠建造珊瑚城堡的磁力定律。

Coral Castle’s Fascinating Features and Carvings / 珊瑚城堡迷人的特色和雕刻:

Coral Castle’s 9-ton-gate by Edward Leedskalnin, Homestead, Florida / 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧的9噸石頭大門, 佛羅里達州霍姆斯特德 (Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Coral Castle‘s Polaris North Star Telescope by Edward Leedskalnin, Homestead, Florida / 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧的石頭北極星望遠鏡, 佛羅里達州, 霍姆斯特德 （mage credit: Peter Reinold)

Coral Castle‘s rock chairs by Edward Leedskalnin, Homestead, Florida / 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧的珊珊瑚石椅, 佛羅里達州, 霍姆斯特德

珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧的9噸石頭大門, 佛羅里達州霍姆斯特德

Coral Castle‘s megalithic sundial by Edward Leedskalnin, Homestead, Florida / 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧的巨石日晷, 佛羅里達州, 霍姆斯特德 (image source: sundial.org)

Coral Castle‘s Valentine’s stone heart table by Edward Leedskalnin, Homestead, Florida : 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧的珊瑚石情人愛心桌, 佛羅里達州, 霍姆斯特德

Leedskalnin‘s fascinating creations inside the Coral Castle include the 9-ton-gate that revolves with just a touch of a finger, a megalithic sundial to tell the calendar date, exact time of the day down to the minute. Leedskalnin somehow made the chairs in Coral Castle comfortable to sit on, even when it’s made of rocks. He also built a stone Polaris telescope that allows one to see the North Star when lining up with the eyepiece (also made of stone). A 5000-lbs “Valentine’s stone heart table with fresh plant in the centre was Leedskalnin‘s creation in case he forgot or was too poor to get Agnes fresh flowers for Valentine’s Day. For electricity, Leedskalnin used magnets and a hand crank to generate.

 中文版 / Chinese version:
Leedskalnin在珊瑚城堡內的驚人作品包括 一扇只需用一根手指輕輕一推即可旋轉的9 噸重石頭大門；一座可以精準的告知日期、時間，精確到分鐘的巨石日晷；即使是用石頭打造也可以坐起來很舒服的椅子；一座與石頭目鏡對齊時，可以看到北極星的石質北極星望遠鏡。 「珊瑚城堡」中間種植物的一張 5000 磅重的「情人石桌」是愛德華的癡情創作，他說因為自己不富有、頭腦不好，Agnes喜歡花，他怕自己哪一年情人節忘記或是因為太窮而無法為Agnes送上鮮花時，可以用「情人愛心石桌」代替。 至於電力，Leedskalnin使用磁鐵和手搖曲柄來發電。

Edward Leedskalnin’s Heartbreaking Tool Room at Coral Castle / 愛德華利茲卡寧令人心碎的工具室:

Coral Castle Tool Room, Homestead, Florida (image credit: coralcastlerocks.com)

Edward Leedskalnin’s Heartbreaking Tool Room at Coral Castle / 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧令人心碎的工具室 (image credit: coralcastlerocks.com)

Edward Leedskalnin’s Tool Room at Coral Castle (image credit: coralcastlerocks.com)

Edward Leedskalnin’s Heartbreaking Tool Room at Coral Castle / 珊瑚城堡愛德華利茲卡寧令人心碎的工具室 (image credit: coralcastlerocks.com)

Exploring Leedskalnin’s tools room was heartbreaking. Every handheld tool is like a stab in the heart. This tiny man used only a sickle, some chains, a makeshift wood tripod to move over 10 tons of rocks.

 中文版 / Chinese version:
探索 Leedskalnin 的工具室時，頗令人心碎。 看到他所使用的每一個手持工具都像是扎心的痛。 這個小個仔只用了一把鐮刀、一些鍊子和一個木三腳架就可移動超過 10 噸重的岩石。

Edward Leedskalnin’s Death / 愛德華利茲卡寧之死:

Edward Leedskalnin tall coral castle / 愛德華利茲卡寧身高 – 珊瑚城堡

Leedskalnin had stopped eating and became weak in his later years. He eventually suffered a stroke and died in 1951, 28 days after checking himself into Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital from pyelonephritis (kidney infection) at age 64. If you ask me, Edward died of a broken heart.

 中文版 / Chinese version:
Leedskalnin在晚年期間越吃越少、身體變得越來越虛弱。 他最終於 1951 年中風，並在自己住進邁阿密傑克遜紀念醫院 28 天後死於腎盂腎炎（腎臟感染）， 享年64 歲。但如果你問我，我覺得愛德華是死於心被蹂躪、踐踏，心碎而死。

Archeologists found many similarities between the pyramids of Giza, Egypt and Leedskalnin‘s Coral Castle. The weirdest thing is, I also suffered a mysterious massive hemorrhagic stroke and heartbreak soon after visiting Coral Castle. Is everything a coincidence? In my YouTube video, how did I call out that Taiwan was just a ticking bomb waiting to explode a year ago from the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak when all others were raving about how well we were keeping under control? Could this be a curse? Could Leedskalnin‘s spirit have entered my flesh and hence, brought on the same fate to my life?

 中文版 / Chinese version:
考古學家發現埃及吉薩金字塔和 Leedskalnin的珊瑚城堡之間有許多相似之處。 最詭異的是，殘編在參觀珊瑚城堡不久後，也一樣莫名其妙的大出血性中風，各大名醫都不知緣由，緊接著被未婚夫拋棄，心碎至今。這 一切都是巧合嗎？ 我怎麼能在一年多前、新型冠狀病毒剛爆發時、當其他人都稱讚我們把疫情控制得有多好時，就在我的 YouTube 影片中預知台灣不過是個未爆彈？ 這會是巧合或是詛咒呢？ 是否可能Leedskalnin的靈魂已進入我的肉體，帶給我同樣悲戚的命運？我會跟他一樣，帶著破碎的心進入墳墓嗎？