What remains of the 20 foot high pile of fill dirt for the on-again, off-again parking lot at Liberty State Park--I'm calling it "Mount Liberty"--still stands. The south face is covered with swamp grasses and the top is still bald from tire tracks. Lately I've been climbing it, as it affords an exceptional view of the harbor, the downtown skyline, and to the west and south, the expanse of fenced-off marshland that bears the ominous warning signs: "No Trespassing: Hazardous Materials Area." I've never been able to see that land very well because I've never had a high enough vantage point. It's densely vegetated with cattails and low bushes, like the wetland it used to be, and at dusk it emits a peaceful hum of insect sounds and bird calls (I saw the pheasants again today, flying around in there). There's talk of having engineers go in and dig little rivulets to make it more like "authentic wetland," but I say leave it the f*ck alone. Now that it's cordoned off, just let nature have it back for awhile. OK?
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- tom moody 6-19-2002 4:09 am