An allegory of it's statues
An allegory of it's fountains
Lunch break, don't really want to eat today, option # 1 find the nearest McDonalds and spend a half hour in their parking lot. I prefer McDonalds parking lot because I'm not tempted to eat their food very often. Hardees or Burger King on the other hand have great burgers and the aroma of meat being cooked there can be too tempting to the unrepentant carnivore that I am. Option # 2, find a nice quiet park with a shady spot to park and a bathroom close by and I'm all good.
So driving through the north side of Indy looking for Option #2, I spy a sign, Holliday Park.
Cool, let's check it out! Big park, lots of shady spots in the parking lot, can't see any perverted local politicians lurking in the bushes that might try to sully my reputation, so it looks like a go. As I'm driving around looking for the perfect parking spot. I see some sort of structure that looked like the ruins of a gothic style building. I find a nice shady spot to park the service van and go to investigate. Several feet away from the crumbling wall and fountain were three very tall limestone monuments that reminded me of the obelisk found on the moon in Stanley Kubricks' epic film 2001 A Space Odyssey.
It's called The Ruins and that's exactly what I believed it was, it looks like the last standing wall of some old gothic building.
Reading the bronze plaque on the middle obelisk facing the ruins are the words,
The Ruins
An allegory of its statues
An allegory of its fountains
Hmmm. I can figure this out, or at least come up with my own interpretation.
I walked around to the other side of the obelisks and got a nice view of the ruins through them and read the first part of the Preamble of the Constitution that was carved into the limestone. "WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION".
Hmmm, ok more here to work with than I thought.
Back to the bronze plaque, allegory, my interest in this style of writing was sparked back in school when I read the George Orwell's Animal Farm. I loved that book and the way it made its political points through that story. I have made some feeble attempts at this style of writing in my blog, not because I think I possess any kind of talent for it. I did it because I enjoy trying to say something in a less than straightforward manner. Having said that, I will put my own spin on the objects in this park and try to do some research later to find out the real interpretation later.
The Ruins seem to be the main focus of what is being conveyed here. Walking around them I see a non-working fountain over a mostly dried up pool of dirty water, the fountain is in front of the last remaining wall of what must have been some grand and foreboding structure.
There are three stone figures straining to hold up the last bit of brickwork.
Looking through the gaps in the 3 obelisks at the fountain and the wall I see the obelisks as the constitution, which is our country's foundation. The gaps between them are some of the nations leaders and their followers that hold this document in contempt. With malice and deceit they have undermined this great gift bestowed upon us by our founding fathers.
The fountain, once overflowing with freedom and riches produced by this nation, now holds nothing but a small stagnant puddle.
The only thing that stands between a crumbling wall and just another pile of rubble are these remaining few who are the last remaining producers of our nation, who are over-burdened with more and more dependents. The wall is this country and it cannot be saved with just a few doing the work of holding it up.
At some point these remaining few will shrug as Atlas did.
As I pondered on this, time slipped away from me.
My thought process is interrupted
My hunger makes its presence known with a slight pain.
I look at the time, my diversion is almost over.
The countdown timer on my watch sounds the alert.
Someday maybe I will shrug
But today is not that day
Time to get back on the wall
and hold up some bricks.
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