A Love Story

A love story. No. I haven’t found the woman of my dreams. Besides, Scarlett Johansson is already taken. No. This is not a love story about anyone I know personally. This is a love story of mythical proportions. A love story for the ages!

Let me set the stage. If you read my blog, you know I love history. If you follow me on Facebook, you know I love Lehigh Gap Nature Center.  If you know me at all, you know I love Slatington.  What I learned in fourth grade, in Lincoln Elementary ties it all together.

Here goes. Before there was a Lehigh Gap, before there was a Slatington, and certainly before there was Facebook; the Lenni Lenape Indians (ok, politically correctly Native Americans, but I am using Indian from now on!) ruled the land we call the Lehigh Valley.  There was an Indian God that lived here, as well, and he fell in love with a beautiful Indian maiden.  Remember, no Lehigh Gap existed, but the long and high Blue Mountain did. Behind the Blue Mountain was a huge lake. One day, our Indian God was out walking on the mountain and he looked down onto the lake and saw the Indian maiden that he loved so much. But, she was not alone. She was in a birch bark canoe with an Indian warrior!  He loved her so much that he became angry and split the mountain in two, draining the lake.  No more lake, but now we have Lehigh Gap, the gap in the mountain. The lake is gone and, I assume, the maiden and the warrior were washed downstream. They probably ended up in Easton, near the Free Bridge!

Just look what love can do! OK, all love stories do not have a happy ending. That’s true in real life too.

I first heard this wonderful myth in fourth grade in a lesson called Our Lehigh County.  It may have been Our Lehigh Valley. It was a long, long time ago! I wish I had a copy of the text book we used in that class. If anyone happens to have a copy, I would love to see it.

That is the end of the love story myth. Time to get back to real life. Is Amy Adams married? And if not, do you think she would be interested in a balding 66 year old? Yeah, I guess not. Hope for me there would truly be a myth!