Holyland USA

So much could be said about Holyland. What's left of it overlooks what was then Scovill factory and within the last ten years trees started growing on the hill. It was downwind of all the smokestacks. I surmise the heavy metals have disapated enough for them to grow again. An inspired man created the site in the last century and when I was a child there were pilgrimages up to it. There was a miniature Bethlehem, a concrete Pillar of Salt and the large cross that overlooked the city and glowed at night. But Holyland fell into disrepair, the entry now controlled by an order of nuns who refuse to allow people to walk through it. The last time I was there I found a chicken coop style structure covering a boulder that had two cracks in it. They were painted blue with labels for each. One was titled "Euphrates," the other "Tigres." Enclosed was a large plastic doll with rotting hair. A hand-painted sign tied around her neck said "Eve." The sign outside the shed informed me it was the "Garden of Eden." Even the neon "Holyland USA" sign has suffered. A few years back the "l" and "y" had gone out. As you drove on the highway at night it glowed "Ho land USA."