I don’t know how she does it and at her age she never looks weary or forlorn, she holds her chin high and casts her gaze with such determination. I like to think she stands watching the horizon with great expectation, delighted by the breaking waves, and feeling the misty sea breeze while at times can be turbulent and unruly, it never shows on her face.
Sometimes I try and get into her head to see with my own eyes the ocean kissing the sky, that horizon line and the constant swell and release of our shores to gain some perspective from her dedication as well as her exemplary presence and spirit.
I look upon a fine line that has been watched for centuries, the horizon that holds optimistically to hope, witnessing every sunrise, and acknowledging every sunset all the while holding her lamp to the nights’ sky. Following the guidance of that flicker of light, and like a star or a satellite she continues to stand as a radiant beacon and a standard by which we measure humanity.
With life expectancy on the rise, this may be food for thought for a long time, and although it may no longer be taboo to ask a lady her age, think before outing a lady by complement or by curiosity because it remains her prerogative to preserve the mystery.
Please note and don’t pass judgment, she was conceived in France at a dinner party in 1865 by Edward de Laboulaye. She was created by Fredrick Bartholdi and crafted with the help from Gustav Eiffel by 1884 and standing on her pedestal in the New York Harbor 125 years ago October 28, 1886.
As a birthday wish, take a moment and reflect on “Liberty Enlightening the World” and know that freedom is your right and not a privilege. She stands tirelessly as a reminder to all.
