Photo property of Erik Johansson
The southbound lanes are now shared for traffic coming and going and all of us can watch as the other side of the highway is carried away and is now being rebuilt. It is a strange sight to see miles of dirt where once a highway stood. But the most amazing thing is the giant machine they brought in, that we have named The Highway Maker. It appears that as this monster machine slowly moves forward, it spits out a freshly poured thick slab of interstate. Much like the EZ Bake oven, there is nothing on one side and yet magically, a perfect product rolls out the opposite side of the machine. It's nothing short of magical. Insistent that we capture a photo of this giant wonder, I pressured my children to hang out of the car windows with cell phones in hand as I drove precariously close to a concrete retainer wall that separated us from oncoming death, screaming, "Did you get it? Did you get it?" My son gave it his best, but we were unable to capture a decent photo of this machine in its full glory as we drove by at reduced speeds in single file. Had we taken the picture below, it would be proof that we had made a wrong turn and were currently driving in Portugal.
Picture by www.GOMACO.com |
With half the highway gone, we now drive on the left and share lanes with oncoming traffic. I have always been happy knowing that we drive on the right. I find comfort in that simple rule. Upset that constant and things begin to get strange. My daughter is most concerned about this as she has always had some internal formula for determining if traffic is coming or going and while we've found no logic in her assessment of travel patterns, she is undoubtedly certain which side is coming and which side is going. On our way to the city, on the wrong side of the highway, she declared that we were "going." The people on the other side of the concrete wall were "coming." I asked if we would be coming or going when we were on the other side and she was quick to let me know that we would obviously be going. It leaves me bumfuzzled.
The Highway Maker is definitely going and will be in a perpetual state of "going" as it lays down an endless road of concrete to new and wondrous places. Trapped by the nature of it's own existence, it will never be coming or returning, as a road once traveled is all the Highway Maker will ever know.
I wish for just an hour or two that my kids and I could jump aboard this fantastic machine, sit under the cool umbrella, shift the gears, raise the flag, mold some concrete, sip on a cool drink and lay down a new path at 105 feet per minute. It would be empowering!
I wish for just an hour or two that my kids and I could jump aboard this fantastic machine, sit under the cool umbrella, shift the gears, raise the flag, mold some concrete, sip on a cool drink and lay down a new path at 105 feet per minute. It would be empowering!
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Thank you Eric for letting me use your very cool photo! -m
Thank you Eric for letting me use your very cool photo! -m
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