The book "An Exaltation of Parks, John D Rockefelelr Jr.'s Crusade to save America's Wonderlands" is a fun read, and tells you what one (wealthy) man did for our national park system. I hope those parks never gets rezoned for affordable housing :)
I cycled across the river to Fort Lee Then on the park roads under the Palisades At the time it didn't occur to me Undercliff Park didn’t come free; a man had paid. I walked the carriage-road of Pocantico Hills It was early, I saw cows and said "moo" I vaguely heard of the man who paid the bills So I could walk through fields, enjoy the view. I hiked with my brother in Acadia Park We pitched a tent on Mount Cadillac High above the sea, lightning after dark At sunrise, we high-fived, and put on our packs I didn't know John’s spirit hovered there The man who paid for all this land A man who did more than his share A believer, he made this his stand Above Jackson Hole I rode my bike up high Clouds dispersed, snow-peaks showed I felt the rush, like an advance guard spy John spent well, this was what he chose John’s descendant Marion wanted revolution So it could take away her money, deal with it better Peggy Rockefeller joined SDS as a solution Some rich kids see wealth as an iron fetter. John Senior and John Junior, would they plea? Be dismayed at the causes to which their money now goes? Would John ask the fund’s new trustees Not to fund radicals, and NGOs? Maybe its intuition, that makes a man decide But take a hike in the Smokies, or Yosemite and recall In this kind of charity John took pride An Idealist whose legacy still stands tall. Now in Pocantico I wear a disguise I’m full of shame, it’s true Because whenever I come over a rise Some kid laughs and points and says “Moo”!
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