Monday, March 31, 2008

Ben who?


Living in Philadelphia you quickly realize that the city has an obvious obsession with one B. Franklin. Rightfully so I guess. He had his hand in every pot in the young Philadelphia; he started the first fire department, the first american loaning library, as well as the first academy of higher education in America, which ultimately turned into the University of Pennsylvania. All this with a bad case of gout. Because of all these accolades there are hundreds of statues or monuments to him around town (not to mention all the businesses named things like: Franklin Liquor, Ben Franklin Pretzel, etc). On my way home from work the other day Rachel and I took photos of all the Ben Franklin statues, which totalled 4 if you count a mural on the side of a building. Not bad for a 25 minute walk.



Here is the mural of ole benny, although it is pretty odd mural, I mean whats cheaper than a outdoor painting of a statue?




This one is right in the middle of campus and features the old, wise Ben, that could be seen canoodling with wealthy french ladies about the court.




This is obviously my favorite one. He's a great listener.



Ben... Did you take my hat?




2 comments:

j_bone_tx said...

Knowing that he also had gout has inspired me to become a reniassance man as well. To date I have invented quadrafocals and written an almanac! People with gout CAN make a difference!!

Roxanne said...

I can't wait to get an audience with those Ben statues...well, I've been having a lot of problems lately and, well, I just want to talk......
See you in May!!!!