Mister Hugh's World of Randomness

Thought i'd continue the Statue of Liberty theme, by telling you a little about my visit to the Statue, which was the last 'touristy' thing I did in New York.

It's quite surprising we managed to get to Liberty island at all. The security checks you had to go through just to get on the ferry were harsh, to put it mildly. Far worse than what I went through getting into the US in the first place, in fact. As I pointed out to andy at the time, it seemed a bit ironic that such a worldwide symbol of freedom and of course Liberty was guarded by so much restriction and suspicion.

Still, it has to be said that the scars of the World Trade centre are still there in people's minds, especially in New York where the gap in the Manhattan skyline still stands out to anyone who remembers the way it used to be. So I suppose I can understand them being a bit over-protective of the rest of their landmarks.

I was still fed up that the security people made me take off my shoes for no apparent reason, though, especially as they didn't give them back for ages.

Anyway, the Statue was well worth the hassle. It's really impressive close-to. But rather than try to describe it myself, i'll give you the words of Emma Lazarus, in her poem "The New Colossus" which is inscribed on a tablet in the Statue's pedestal:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus (1883)


Inspiring stuff.

So inspiring, in fact, that a local seagull who had presumably read the poem had decided to pay it's own tribute to Lady Liberty. Given the resources the seagull had to work with, i.e. a rock and itself, I think it did a pretty good job...



The Statue of Liberty



The Seagull of Liberty