The underside of Adelaide Road
London, ON, October 2007 [Click to enlarge]
I drive it almost every day, a nondescript stretch of four-lane road that monotonously drones from one forgettable neighborhood to another. Yet until I took a late afternoon walk on the path that runs underneath the road surface, I never gave much thought to what I was passing over.
As so often happens when I meander, it got me thinking: Crossing a bridge used to be an event. The road would narrow as the flimsy-looking truss loomed ahead. You'd watch out for oncoming traffic, and would often wait until other cars completed their journey before beginning your own. You'd drive slowly, deliberately across the span, quietly thanking the long-gone engineers who built this roadway through the sky.
Today, most crossings are basic decks, so much a part of the surrounding roadscape that most motorists have no idea they've just driven over a river. Another way in which technology insulates us from the world around outside.
So I wandered to a place that most people don't know exists and found...well, I'm not quite sure what I found. That's up to you...
Your turn: What did I find. What would you find on the path rarely taken?
As a child, I spent a lot of time in the woods around our home. Every day was a voyage of discovery - under rocks, in creeks, in the trees. I miss those days where everything was a new wonder to behold. I'm not exactly jaded now, but I don't have that sense of awe anymore.
ReplyDeleteI found a lovely quiet park full of children. They were not ordinary children though they smiled, laughed, wanted my attention, wanted me to love them and accept them.
ReplyDeleteAs I got to know them I soon discovered that some of them were blind. A few of them couldn't hear. I reached out to hold a little girls hand but she could not reach back. When I took her hand in mine she held it like it was the greatest possession she'd ever received.
One particular boy who began to drool when I picked him up and held him. This began to turn my stomach a little until I noticed a towel in his lap. I wiped his cheek and the saliva was gone.
When it was time to leave I felt guilty. I made a mental note to return again soon so that I could atone my sin of neglect. For most of my life I would either stare or turn away - doing nothing. What I did today was at least something.
Most avoid going underneath that bridge in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the bridge that's crossed has lots of clutter just below the surface. It makes the flow difficult but perserverance will make one's character stronger.
ReplyDeleteGood thought for the day Carmi.
It is the Borg wading pool. You will be aswimillated. Make it so number 1.
ReplyDeleteBradley
It's the underside of a giant's porch bench.
ReplyDeleteyou found a reat photo .....
ReplyDeleteGreat pic in a neat spot. I sent you an e-mail with what it looks like when I enlarge it.
ReplyDelete