Just in case you weren’t paying attention, let it be known that the Statue of Liberty celebrated her 120th birthday today…12 decades of standing out there in the harbor all be herself in the heat and cold, never complaining about a tired arm as she holds aloft the torch of freedom. Nary a sigh over the ridiculously high cost of real estate in Manhattan (bring me your poor….but send them to Queens).
I’ve been to Liberty Island twice now, and each time came away very impressed, very happy to be American. I’ve also paddled by her several times, even at the risk of being shot at or arrested by the Coast Guard. She’s a lovely symbol that we should all be grateful for…even if that means being gracious to the French, who gave her to us, after all. What I’d most like to see, however, is the ability for folks to climb up to her crown. That, I’ve never done.