- MINTAKA (Delta Orionis). Orion is defined by his great belt, three bright second magnitude stars in a row that the ancient Arabs called “the string of pearls,” which is the meaning of the name of the middle star, Alnilam. The two flanking stars, eastern Alnitak and western Mintaka, both come from Arabic phrases that mean “the belt of the Central One,” the Central One the Arabic personification of our Orion, a woman lost to history.
- Kit Sims Taylor (findagrave.com)
Kit Taylor was born with an adventurous spirit, tenacity, a kind heart, and a fierce sense of social justice. He survived 14 years after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 1996. On his five-year checkup, another cancer emerged but he survived that, too. Pancreatic cancer finally bested him.