Points of View

           The view of downtown Pittsburgh from the summit of Mt. Washington is so common around here that it's almost cliche.  After living here a few years, you stop seeing it.  And yet, it really is remarkable.

           A lesser known vista is the lonely Ohio River as it pursues its westward course, also seen from the peak of Mt. Washington.  So many things around here are named "Washington" because the guy spent a lot of time out in these parts--speculating for Virginia Colony and for his own personal interests.  Years ago, I saw tourist literature claiming that for Washington, crossing the Delaware was easy, but the Allegheny almost killed him.  It refers to an unplanned December swim he took in the half-frozen river in 1753.

          This larger-than-life sculpture depicts a 1770 meeting that took place between Washington and Guyasutha (known to us upstaters as "Kiasutha"), the Seneca Indian who led young Washington on his first trek up the Allegheny on a failed diplomatic mission to the French.  Though they originally met in 1753, the statues represent an encounter that took place 17 years later, when they sat on the banks of the Ohio and debated the future of the region.  Though they disagreed, they supposedly parted on friendly terms.  The name of the piece is "Points of View."  I think it should be named "Kiss the Girl."