← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Ragnar
Thread ID: 6487 | Posts: 4 | Started: 2003-05-05
2003-05-05 04:20 | User Profile
(Another piece of America gone.)
The Old Man of the Mountains Is Dead
[url=http://www.rense.com/general37/oldman.htm]http://www.rense.com/general37/oldman.htm[/url]
Hello, Jeff,
It's finally happened... the Old Man of the Mountains, symbol of modern New Hampshire and inspiration to the Native Americans before us, has died...
On Saturday, May 3rd, the Old Man's face slipped from its ramshackle supports of cables and resin sealant that had staved off this moment for decades, dropping far into the valley below with a stone-shattering crash.
I grew up in New England and travelled to the White Mountains of New Hampshire many times to enjoy its wonder and beauty. I've driven through 45 states, and to this day Franconia Notch is still my favorite place in all of North America, with the Old Man its soveriegn protector, greeting all who entered this gorgeous piece of New England.
Now the Old Man is gone... a fallen guardian of nature's beauty. They tell us of erosion by rain and wind, freezing cycles and ice pressure being the culprit. While that's certainly a huge contributing factor, the Old Man's home, Cannon Mountain, is also an obvious victim of acid rain. The evergreens of its summit are stunted and brown, many of them dead. I've seen these effects first-hand on my visits over a dozen years ago, and the sight wasn't hopeful. I'm sure it hasn't improved since then.
Pollution's effects in the Northeast have been acknowledged by the media in years past, but will we hear of its effects on the Old Man now? Not likely, since the state-controlled media would hate for you to understand the dangers of the chemical pollution that lines their pockets and those of their industrial benefactors.
As Judith Moriarty, a long-time resident of that area, pointed out to me tonight... the first thought of the politicians was to start a collection fund to restore the face, a man-made imitation of the original natural wonder, a fake, mummified mask of the dead and beloved Old Man. But do these politicians ever care of the living, suffering, homeless and hungry in everyday life? No, they ignore them, cut funding for their care and necessities, leaving them to wither and struggle for survival, begging for nothing more than normal and reasonable comforts.
But the Old Man, much as I would love to see him rise again, is immediately given the greatest possible attention. Instead of letting him pass away with dignity, we'll throw money at the mountain and come up with some plastic facade to replace the irreplacable.
**I am now among the last generation to see this amazing natural American wonder, and I share the sadness of the locals and all who have seen it with me. We cannot bring the Old Man back to life, but only replace him with an expensive, empty shell of what he once looked like.
I only hope the Old Man's fall, a symbol of Old America, isn't a prophetic event, signifying our own impending destruction and the irretrievable loss of who we once were as Americans.**
*Archaeos Prime *
Renegade Patriot
Collapse of NH 'Old Man of the Mountains' Saddens Locals:
[url=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030503/ap_on_re_us/old_man_mountain]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ld_man_mountain[/url]
2003-05-05 05:01 | User Profile
I only hope the Old Man's fall, a symbol of Old America, isn't a prophetic event, signifying our own impending destruction and the irretrievable loss of who we once were as Americans.
2003-05-05 05:07 | User Profile
I need to hear Wintermute's take on this.
Walter
2003-05-10 06:13 | User Profile
When the Charter Oak of Connecticut fell down 1856, the wood was used for all kinds of things from pianos to furniture, to even the frame for the 1662 Charter that the patriots hid from the British when they came to take it away which is currently located in a Wadsworth Atheneum museum in Hartford. Maybe the relevent rocks could be sold and the money used to pay for a replacement carving.
Of course, the Civil War began five years after the fall of the Charter Oak with the first engagement at Fort Sumter in 1861. Let's hope there is not an omen.