The business of moving people
To the editor:
Escalators are part of the cityscape. It’s easy to wonder if the idea for moving stairs was inspired by McCrum’s packing shed. At rush hour the populace acts very much like a new bin of spuds being loaded in.
Eight different sets of moving stairs are between my house and work. Not certain how the modern world would survive without them. Like the packing shed, people are shuffled into feeder cones to step onto a conveyor belt and lifted at a fast pace to the next level. Up and down, these machines carry thousands of people an hour and every day.
In the connecting stations where two lines meet the managers of the system will put in flow-control measures. These are big mazes of barriers that control the direction of the crowd so that there is not a mad crush to the center or ends of the platform. One person becomes a lab rat in a psychology experiment. Hazards of the trip are the fools who are reading their directions from their mobile phones. Nothing more irritating than the foolish person who stands in the pathway of the next group of people coming along. If you need to use your phone get out of the way, selfish fools.
July Fourth is this week. In Martyr’s Park in Guangzhou there stands a copy of Lady Liberty. One hundred years ago, as the Chinese Empire started to change; overseas Chinese returned to their home country emboldened by the ideals of American-style democracy and capitalist enterprising. These new people struggled with divided loyalties. They loved their home country. They loved the thrill and joy of learning, growing and participating in their future.
The leaders of the new movement, Dr. Sun Yat-sen amongst the many, were enamored with the ideals of the American effort. They built the replica of the Statue of Liberty and placed it on a pedestal in a park honoring those who lost their lives fighting for what Americans have: The freedom to explore new ideas and methods for progressing into the future.
Lady Liberty lifts her beacon high, its simple flame guiding us all into a bright future. Enjoy the Fourth!
Orpheus Allison
Guangzhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
