INDEPENDENCE DAY IN NEW JERSEY

The Statue of Liberty's crown, closed since 9/11, opened on the fourth of July.

I first made that climb decades ago, 354 steps to the top, some of those barely big enough for even my child sized feet. And there was no handrail then, as there is now.

And at the top, a disappointing view of the New York skyline; you could see better from the Empire State Building or, for that matter, the World Trade Center. The real thrill was just being there in Lady Liberty, the same statue that greeted my immigrant grandparents on their way up New York Harbor.

I'd like some some day to climb up to the torch. It's been closed since World War I when German saboteurs blew up a nearby military ammo dump and the blast weakened Liberty's arm.

And yes, the Statue of Liberty is actually in New Jersey. Don't let any New Yorker tell you different.