In his book Talking Straight Lee Iacocca shares some interesting stories about raising funds for the 100th birthday celebration of the Statue of Liberty. For example, there was a man from Poland who sent $2 for "this beautiful symbol." He never expected to see the statue himself, but at least he could dream about it. There was a money order from a refugee camp in Thailand. Seventy-eight homeless Vietnamese had passed the hat and come up with $114.19 as "our humble share for the rehabilitation of her hundredth birthday."

"That one floored me," writes Iacocca. "These were people who had lost everything, everything but hope. And the Lady was the symbol of that hope. They simply were pleading with us to `keep the torch lit.'"

The Statue of Liberty. What a beautiful lady she isan almost unive…