Everyday Canvas

Statue of Liberty

Prompt: Statue of Liberty
"My father described this tall lady who stands in the middle of the New York harbor, holding high a torch to welcome people seeking freedom in America. I instantly fell in love."
Yakov Smirnoff
What do you think of statues in general and the Statue of Liberty in particular?

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I have to begin with who Yakov Smirnoff is. https://yakov.com
Yakov Smirnoff is a comedian, born in Odessa, Ukraine, and I think, a very good one. He comes up with a joke for just about everything, but his jokes have a serious heart while he uses simple words and expressions, like in this quote.

As to the Statue of Liberty, during the earlier century and a half, it is what the immigrants first saw when their boats arrived into the New York Harbor. It meant hope and a new beginning for those people as the statue whispered of core American values to them, such as freedom, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness.

The statue--located on Liberty Island, NY--also symbolizes the ties of friendship between the USA and France, as it was given, in 1886, as a gift to USA from the French. Each part of the statue has a meaning. The torch symbolizes enlightenment and progress and the tablet in the statue's other hand has July 4, 1776 (Declaration of Independence's date) inscribed on it. The broken chains at the statue's feet point to the abolition of slavery and the victory of liberty.

During 1969, when a friend from overseas came to visit us, he asked us to take him to the Statue of Liberty, which we did. When I look back on that day, the ferry ride was the most fun until we arrived at Liberty Island. At the time, it was a common belief or rather understanding that the climb was meant to be a feat and a show of support for the ideals of freedom. That is, if one could climb up the long and winding stairs to the top, all the way to the statue's crown.

The statue, with the height of 27 stories, has 354 steps on a double-helix spiral staircase to reach the crown and 192 steps in order to reach the top of the pedestal. "There are 25 windows in the crown which symbolize 25 gemstones found on the earth. The seven rays of the Statue’s crown represent the seven seas and continents of the world."
https://www.statueoflibertyclub.com/facts-figures/

Alas, being in my twenties then, I was the bold one. I said I'd climb it. Our guest was a much older man than us and he did oblige willingly at first, but after one or two sections of stairs, he gave up and went down. Hubby did go up higher than him. As for the silly me, I was the champ who managed to go up to the pedestal by climbing all those stairs. But, O God, did I pay for it later! I was sore all over for two days after that as was my husband although he had quit halfway.

The funny thing is, an elevator exists that goes up to the pedestal, which is at about halfway the height of the statue, but it is ticketed and you have to have reservations for it ahead of time. I could have not gotten so sore if I had taken the elevator...But then, pushing myself too hard is the story of my life, although now, my old age tells me, "Nope, no more!"

And The Statue of Liberty still stands. Thank God and our lucky stars!