New Hampshire's "Old Man," seven days before he disappeared in an avalanche. -- Photo by Jeffrey Joseph
“Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men.”
— Daniel Webster
Travels With Maggie
For years I had read about New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mountain. But when I finally had the opportunity to meet him in 2006, I discovered he had died in 2003. I’m not sure how I missed the obituary.
If you haven’t already guessed, I’m referring to the former granite profile of a man’s face that looked out over the landscape from high atop Cannon Mountain. It’s the same profile that was used on New Hampshire’s state quarter, issued three years before an avalanche killed off the old man.
I remember standing at the base of Cannon Mountain, binoculars in hand, gazing in disappointment at the spot where the rock that looked like a craggy old man’s face should have been. The one word that burned fiercely through my brain was procrastination. I had been too late, and an opportunity was lost.
I promised myself at that moment in time that I would never procrastinate again. Silly woman. Of course I have. Many times. Most recently about a writing project that I promised myself would be finished by the end of February.
I woke up this morning with an excuse in my head to avoid working on it today. It was a different excuse than the one I used yesterday. Then I thought of New Hampshire’s old man. Guess I had better throw those excuses out my RV window.
Pat Bean's blog 
Hi, Pat, may I assume your writing project will, upon completion, be published publicly somewhere? I enjoy reading your posts and look forward to reading more of your work.
I thought I had subscribed, but hadn’t received any email updates so I have subscribed again.
Procrastination and I are occasional dance partners. Procrastination, it seems to me, is more stressful than the doing but I forget that once in a while. Distraction often accompanies Procrastination and although I feel like I’m doing, I’m really just spinning my wheels.
This year I have been repeating the mantra: Finish what you started. It’s helping to keep both Procrastination and Distraction at bay. Mostly. 😉
Great photo. Great thought. Thanks for the reminder. Today I will make no excuses. I will finish writing Chapter 3. By the way, I’ve been to New Hampshire and that rocky old man looks familiar. I wonder if it’s because I saw him when I was there. Or maybe he just had one of those faces…
Driving across New Hampshire in 1995, I stopped to see the Old Man. I knew about him from reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Great Stone Face” when I was in high school. Your post makes me think about how impermanent life is. Even things set in stone can disappear.
Procrastination, thy name is Pat. *G* And Sam. And a whole string of others we all know and love. I’m sorry you never got to see the Old Man, Pat, but you’re in good company so keep on keepin’ on with the blogs. Sam
Gee- I had no idea the “Old Man” had disappeared. On trips through New Hampshire’s mountain area, he was always up there and a sight to behold. It’s been many years since I’ve been through New England, having moved to the west coast of Canada. But New England- New Hampshire,Maine & Vermont in particular- was often part of vacations from my hometown of Montreal. Too bad about the “Old Man”- he was certainly a landmark along the route.