Walk on the Stone Arch Bridge

Wendy and I took a walk tonight on the Stone Arch Bridge. You can still see the wreckage of the 35W bridge. We stopped several times just to stare at it. Normally you could have heard the sound of the traffic from where we were.

But tonight you could just hear the water. The part of the channel that leads up to the lock and dams just above the Stone Arch Bridge was very green and foul smelling. They haven't been opening those locks so the water is very stagnant.

As we were looking for a place to park we actually got pretty close to what is left of the bridge on the north side. It is right next to a childcare center. Since it happened just after six we hope that most of the children were gone and didn't see anything. We think one of the girls that was in Tommy's class last year was on the bus that was on the bridge when it fell. Hope she's OK. We don't think she got hurt, but it must have been so scary.

Happy Sunday

We're having our week-before-labor-day Sunday steaks today. The weather is so great we're not even taking a chance that it will rain next weekend. Time to put those nice T-bones on the grill. Baked potatoes too. I'm marinating tomatoes right now as well to serve.

There is something so simple and elemental about a good steak dinner. We have no plans really for today.

Dolce vita!

Summer is almost over...

I hate August. I hate muggy weather. I'm ready for Fall to begin.

And September will soon be here!

bumper sticker

Saw this bumper sticker today while driving:

Frodo Failed. Bush has the ring.

Tonight we don't Fringe

Well the plan was to Fringe tonight--but both Wendy and I are dead beat! OY!!!

We've seen some really great theater. We also saw one show that was pretty bad. But in the interest of not creating "bad karma" I've decided that if I really don't like a show this year, I'm just going to not blog about it.

Wendy has about 4 reviews that she wants to get done tonight. I still have shows I want to write about. If les enfants cooperate, we might be able to do that.

Toys of my childhood

A KIM-1:

I’m pretty sure I programmed one of these at California State College (before it was a University) back in the late 70’s to play “Mary had a little lamb” (or something like that).

A PET:

I SO wanted one of these things!

Things that make me cringe...

I knew someone would say it!

St. Nick at it again... the agony of Molnau

Watched part of the news conference w/ Carol Molnau, Palwenty’s Lt. Governor and head of MN-DoT. She was very defensive about the questions dealing with whether cost was a factor in not doing the reinforcement work that was proposed for the 35W Bridge. She also got very defensive when the suggestion was made that the gas taxes should be raise to fund the new bridge.

So defensive…

She doth protest so much..

This morning Nick Coleman has a article about her.

Gee, I wonder if it was such a great idea to combine the offices of Lt. Governor and the head of MN-DoT in the first place?

Truth or Politics?

“For half a dozen years, the motto of state government and particularly that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been No New Taxes. It's been popular with a lot of voters and it has mostly prevailed. So much so that Pawlenty vetoed a 5-cent gas tax increase - the first in 20 years - last spring and millions were lost that might have gone to road repair. And yes, [the bridge] would have fallen even if the gas tax had gone through, because we are years behind a dangerous curve when it comes to the replacement of infrastructure that everyone but wingnuts in coonskin caps agree is one of the basic duties of government.”

--Nick Coleman

Nick Coleman is taking a lot of flack about this article. My unfortunately response is “the truth hurts.”

The slogan has been “No New Taxes.” I’ve lived permanently in MN since 1992. Actually, I first came up here in 1985. Up until Pawlenty I felt my tax dollars were being put to good use. (As someone born in Pennsylvania and who attended college in New York, this is high praise not given lightly.) When we found that our boys had autism we also found the state sponsored services that helped them and us. Then the services began to be cut. The taxes (or the doublespeak “fees”) went up.

Am I politicizing this tragedy? Is it politics to point out the mindset (that Progressives have been foretelling, like Cassandra) will lead to tragedy?

Our society is like a bridge. A bridge stands through the balance of forces thrust upon it. If a link in the bridge fails, it can fall. It is not enough if a section stands while the rest of the bridge falls.

“We need a new slogan and we needed it yesterday:

‘No More Collapses.’”

--Nick Coleman.

Learning about tragedy

An interesting analysis from the Star Tribune. Did Bush learn from Hurricane Katrina?

Bridge Down

I thought I’d be posting about the first night of the Fringe Festival.

So far it seems like all of our friends are accounted for. My manager was doing a roll-call yesterday morning just to make sure at work.

Neither Wendy nor I can remember the last time we were on the 35W Bridge. We’ve been avoiding the area because of construction. But Wendy drove over that bridge many times last winter to get to a rehearsal in Nordeast.

The inspection ratings for the other bridges in the area are on the web. The Franklin Ave. bridge actually has a slightly lower rating. I found a report on it and read it. They think although there are problems at the water line and below, it is basically safe because the piers are so massive. Still, I may find other ways to cross the Mississippi. The two bridges I use most often (the Mendota Bridge and the Ford Parkway Bridge) have both been rebuilt (Mendota bridge around 1992-3 and Ford just last year).

It’s so surreal to watch the video of the bridge going down. The west bank pier or truss seems to give out first. I’m not an expert, that’s just what it looks like. Today the WCCO website had video of an area of rust near the pier.

Thank God we’re safe. But you feel so much for the families that have been touched by this. It so easily could have been us.