The Bent Page

The cruise liner SS United States held the record for the fastest trans-Atlantic voyage back when speed on the crossing was all the rage. Of course, her days were numbered because she was competing with airplanes and they go quite a bit faster. At any rate, this ship had a brief but proud history. Now, she is tied to a pier in Philadelphia and looks like this:

I was working on the river the day she came to Philadelphia. A flotilla of tugs escorted her under the Walt Whitman Bridge. It was quite a sight to behold. At the same time, it was depressing. We all knew she had been dragged around the world, her internals gutted, her glamour forgotten. This ship has none of the fancy atriums, or rock climbing walls, or other facilities demanded by passengers today. She has the classic look of the older liners instead of the shiny white hulls of the new ones. That said, she did set a record and that counts for something in the history books.

There was talk of refurbishing the ship and maybe a company will find a place to sail her. In the mean time, she sits at the dock, like a sad but pretty girl whose boyfriend left her at the dance all alone.