FREEDOMLAND
By David Allen
Freedom’s not a breakfast food,
I don’t care what cummings said.
It’s the ghost of Freedomland USA,
A short-lived amusement park
With a history theme in the Bronx,
Acres forming a large map of America –
It had New York harbor tugs
And horse-drawn trolleys,
A 19th century brewery, a Jewish deli,
And old Chicago was set afire every 20 minutes.
There was Elsie the Cow in the Midwest,
San Francisco’s Chinatown and the Barbary Coast,
New Orleans Mardis Gras parades
And a huge King Rex carousel.
This gala celebration of America
Lasted barely five years in the early 60s,
Dying from lack of easy access
To the crowds from Jersey and Long Island
And the tourists downtown.
But the thing I remember
About Freedomland most
Are the fights that broke out
Between teenaged newsboys
There for a fun-filled night of freedom
Bought by new subscriptions.
Those who planned the boys night out
Failed to understand they couldn’t
Put us Newsday kids with lads
From the Long Island Press,
Our longstanding rivalry got out of hand.
Type Dancing 