The new old man

the old old man

the new old man

My rule is never to post anything here that doesn't have a technical hook, but maybe by the time I get to the end of this item, I'll have thought of one. I live in New Hampshire, and we had a tough winter. Some winters are extra cold, some extra long, and some extra snowy. This year we got the trifecta. And to cap it off, New Hampshire's state symbol, a granite formation known as the Old Man, came crashing down earlier this month. He's on every license plate, and on every state highway sign, so this was quite an odd thing to have happen -- though not unexpected, he'd been on life support for years.

Last week, hiking with a friend in the woods near our homes, I spotted a small formation that looked eerily like the Old Man. Yesterday, my friend mentioned it to our local newspaper, and today they ran a photo with this caption:

An area of cliff along the Washington Street extension in Keene resembles the late Old Man of the Mountain in Franconia. This formation is located on the gated road that leads to Beaver Brook Falls. The natural rock formation resembling an old man's face - perhaps New Hampshire's best-known symbol - fell from Cannon Mountain earlier this month. (Sentinel photo by MICHAEL MOORE)

So what's the technical hook? Damned if I know. I guess I'll have to think of something else to write today to push this item off InfoWorld's home page.

Former URL: http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2003/05/22.html#a697