Some more thoughts about the Old Man of the Mountain

[xiphias]

The governor of New Hampshire wants to rebuild the thing, now that it's collapsed. As far as I'm concerned, if PEOPLE build the sucker, it doesn't count any more. You do that, it just becomes a piece of self-indulgent crap, like Mount Rushmore. No, the special thing about the Old Man of the Mountain was that it was a natural formation. And, because of that, as Daniel Webster said,

Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades.
Shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe;
Jewelers, a monster watch;
Even a dentist hangs out a gold tooth;
But up in the Franconia Mountains God Almighty
Has hung out a sign to show that, in New England,
He makes men.

The other thing about the face was that, apparently, the Indians who lived in the area had no name for the outcropping, because it only shows up from one viewing angle, and, apparently, none of them had noticed it before.

So, I just have this image in my head of the white explorer, mapping the area, talking to the locals, getting their names for the local things, and he points to the Great Stone Face, and says, "So, what do you call that?"

The Indian says, "Call what? That's a mountain. I already told you that."

"No, no, the face."

"The face? What face?"

"That one, right there -- look!"

"Oh, cool! There's a fuckin' FACE in the side of that mountain! Wait 'till I show that to everybody!"

Comments

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

As a NH native, I have it on good authority that the Old Man hasn't been natural for some time. It was news when I was in junior high or something that they'd installed metal rods or something to keep his complexion clear, as bits were starting to fall off.

I dunno, in general. The Old Man means more to me than the American flag, despite the fact that I'm just as bitter about my childhood home as I am about my country's actions lately. I'd be sad to lose the symbol of the Granite State.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I just feel that there's a difference between putting metal rods and epoxy and all to try to preserve a natural feature, and picking up the rocks that have fallen down, putting them back, and saying, "See? Look, good as new. . . "

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

I'm sad about the loss, but I don't really think rebuilding it is a good idea either. It truly wouldn't be the same. There IS a natural Indian Head profile not far from there, though. It's pretty neat, actually.