I never really knew the Old Man of the Mountain. I never served with him. The Old Man of the Mountain was never a friend of mine.
But I can still say with confidence, regarding the jagged granite profile left after some construction blasting in Fremont, N.H.: You’re no Old Man of the Mountain.
Sorry to be a killjoy curmudgeon here, but think about it:
- The Old Man of the Mountain was a natural phenomenon carved by glaciers that was noticed by Indians as early as 1604 and lasted until 2003. This new profile is part of a manmade mess to make way for an expansion of the Governor’s Forest senior housing project.
- The Old Man was 40 feet high. This is 14 feet high.
- The Old Man looked down 1,200 feet to Profile Lake, from Franconia notch in the White Mountains. This looks at – well, this just looks at more blasted rocks in a southern New Hampshire construction zone, without a mountain in sight. The Old Man of the Suburban Housing Tract, maybe?
Don’t misunderstand – I think it’s just fine, and a lot of fun, to see faces, animals or other objects in clouds, trees or rock formations. But I really don’t think New Hampshire wants to make this alleged Old Man its new state symbol. Take a few pictures of it, and then make way for the new houses.
And let the real Old Man rest in pieces.
