Lady Liberty

The Frenchman mentioned above, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, actually sat down with us at lunch and told of us his experiences in the designing and building of the Statue of Liberty. (I think he comes to life every 50 years or so, sort of like Brigadoon, and how cool is it that we were lucky enough to be there? :-)) Seriously, it was fascinating to talk with him about the history, the U.S. relationship with France, his travels across the United States and his recommendation as to where the statue should be placed -- on Liberty Island, right where it is.

I have always loved the Emma Lazarus poem referred to here. I remember very well singing it with my junior-high school choir, set to a melody by Irving Berlin, himself an immigrant: "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-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" M'sieur Bartholdi, mentioned above, told us it had not really been their intent that Lady Liberty become such a powerful symbol of beckoning and welcoming immigrants to this county -- perhaps that evolved because Liberty Island is right next to Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants first entered the United States.

We took so many pictures of the Statue of Liberty, I've had a terrible time deciding which ones to post. How much time do you have? :-) I love the silhouette above, the sun was just right behind the torch. The close-up here must have been taken by David, I don't think my camera could do that. We were excited to get a group shot in front of the statue -- nobody was photo-shopped in, we were really there!