What’s green, stands 305 feet six inches tall and represents the freedoms we all enjoy? If you guessed the Statue of Liberty, you win a prize.
As the ferry from Manhattan pulled up to Liberty Island last week, I looked at Frederic Barthodi’s spectacular creation. In person, she seems even bigger in life — tall, silent, noble. I was stunned at how beautiful the statue is. The first time I went to New York City, she was closed for renovation (1985). The other times, terrorism threats had her closed. (Liberty inaccessible because of security and terror threats. Go figure). I took out my phone and took off some beautiful photographs. One was even similar to my 9/11 cartoons I drew so many years ago.
She’s a photogenic lady, that’s for sure.
My family didn’t have tickets for the crown (next time) but we did the pedestal. We climbed the stairs and emerged in the base of the statue. I looked up and saw the structure that holds the statue up.
What I saw amazed me.
You probably didn’t know that the covering of the Statue of Liberty is remarkably thin. For 160 years, she has been covered with copper that’s as thin as the thickness of two pennies. What makes her strong is her steel spine. Bet you didn’t know that the Statue of Liberty’s innards are related to the iconic Eiffel Tower. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel designed both. The steel structure is designed to flex in the wind. That allowed the statue to survive Super Storm Sandy. And about everything else thrown at her. (Including a nearby bomb set off by German saboteurs during World War I). She stands strong, watching over America’s gateway to the world.
We live in a world where we are more focused on the thin copper coating of people and not their steel spines. Time will tear the coating away. But if you’re like the Statue of Liberty, you can survive just about anything thrown at you. I’ve know people at the end of their lives who didn’t stand for anything. As their secrets were revealed, it was pretty ugly.
There’s nothing ugly about the Statue of Liberty. She stands for one of our most precious gifts. As the ferry headed to Ellis Island, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Yes, she has external beauty. But what makes her truly strong is what’s on the inside.
(Kind of reminds me of my wife. ;-))