6.21.2003
There's something about Bay City bridges and me... Bay City, Michigan is, to me, a rather confusing town to drive in... one that has 'downtown' areas all over the map, multitudes of neighborhood bars and bridges all over the place! I find it an easy place to get lost in... and dislike driving there by myself. Being a 'grown-up' however, I have occasion to do so.
Many years ago I had a meeting to attend in Bay City... my husband gave me specific directions to the meeting place and of course, I knew that in reverse order I'd make it home..... and I did. The next morning the local news reported that the bridge was broken.. opened and wouldn't go back down. It was closed, never to be opened again. We joke that if the bridge had closed the night before I'd still be driving around Bay City looking for a way home.
Last Thursday I had an appointment with my doctor in Bay City... the drive is pretty much a 'straight shot' on a street familiar to me. On my way back home the bridge was raised - as if for a ship to go through - but there were barricades in front and children playing on the road there with their bikes and roller skates. It was closed! Logic broke my panic and I followed the vehicles in front of me... making a right turn... following the river. Thanks to my cellphone I was reassured by el spouso that I was on the right tack... and proceeded to the next bridge. There were a few choices to be made along the way. Fortunately I held my calm and made the correct ones all the way home.
Why would they close down a whole bridge... by leaving it open? I think they were getting ready for 'River Roar'... an annual event where daredevils use extremely noisy boats with giant motors that go 100 miles an hour and race up and down the Saginaw River! I like boats... a fun way to get from here to there if you're on a lake or river... but watching a bunch of them speeding up and down the river? No thank you! I'm doubly glad I don't live in Bay City and only have to drive there to visit... or go to keep a doctor's appointment..... all those bridges; all those downtowns and bars; all those tourists! Yuck! ...and what is the environmental impact on the river shores? ... on the creatures trying to live in the river? ... is it really responsible behavior on the part of the 'city fathers?'
Many years ago I had a meeting to attend in Bay City... my husband gave me specific directions to the meeting place and of course, I knew that in reverse order I'd make it home..... and I did. The next morning the local news reported that the bridge was broken.. opened and wouldn't go back down. It was closed, never to be opened again. We joke that if the bridge had closed the night before I'd still be driving around Bay City looking for a way home.
Last Thursday I had an appointment with my doctor in Bay City... the drive is pretty much a 'straight shot' on a street familiar to me. On my way back home the bridge was raised - as if for a ship to go through - but there were barricades in front and children playing on the road there with their bikes and roller skates. It was closed! Logic broke my panic and I followed the vehicles in front of me... making a right turn... following the river. Thanks to my cellphone I was reassured by el spouso that I was on the right tack... and proceeded to the next bridge. There were a few choices to be made along the way. Fortunately I held my calm and made the correct ones all the way home.
Why would they close down a whole bridge... by leaving it open? I think they were getting ready for 'River Roar'... an annual event where daredevils use extremely noisy boats with giant motors that go 100 miles an hour and race up and down the Saginaw River! I like boats... a fun way to get from here to there if you're on a lake or river... but watching a bunch of them speeding up and down the river? No thank you! I'm doubly glad I don't live in Bay City and only have to drive there to visit... or go to keep a doctor's appointment..... all those bridges; all those downtowns and bars; all those tourists! Yuck! ...and what is the environmental impact on the river shores? ... on the creatures trying to live in the river? ... is it really responsible behavior on the part of the 'city fathers?'
# posted by sherle : 8:04 AM
