Some Things I Ponder While Driving
Gore Vidal’s Lincoln is a great movie/mini series. Sam Waterston studied dialect for weeks and is a fantastic Lincoln and Mary Tyler Moore is a wonderful Mary Todd Lincoln. Vidal did fine research, including using John Hay’s diary. Both the book and the movie set Lincoln in a most interesting light… far from the unflinching Lincoln we were taught about in school. This Lincoln has nightmare, insomnia and suffers from severe constipation. At one point in the movie several men are with the president, in the “war room” of the day. They are looking at a map. Mary comes in and notices that three very important roads intersect at Gettysburg. Here is the scene:
“But look,” she said, “the main road here to Baltimore and the one here to Philadelphia; and this one to Harrisburg. Why, this town is at the very center of everything in Pennsylvania.”
“You know, Mother, you may be right.” Lincoln also peered at the map. “I can’t say that any of us here at the highest command post of all every noticed anything much except a dot called Gettysburg.”
Stanton’s response was a snort. “It is an accident,” he said, “if the town is of any strategic importance.”
“But someone must have known. These places are not chosen at random, are they?”
Lincoln chuckled. “I have a hunch they are, Mother.”
“Let us pray that we do no lose this all-important town,” said Mary, as she left.
Sometimes I wonder about things. We stayed in a campground in Nebraska that is open all year. All day we had driven past miles and miles of snow fence. Occasionally we came to places on I-80 that say, “Must Exit if Lights are Flashing.” There are huge gates that can be closed across all lanes of the highway to keep the dull witted from trying it anyway. So, I am thinking, are you going to close the highway but leave the state park open? I am just wondering.
In earlier rants, I have expounded on the absurdity of signs saying things like, “Kill or injure a highway worker and be fined $10,000.” This made me wonder; Here is a guy in a hurry in a $50,000 Escalade. He may think, “I am in a hurry, and hey, for only $10,000 I will bounce this guy out of the way.” I mean, is the fine the only thing we should be thinking about here?
Wyoming has a different take on highway construction. They say, “Pay Attention or Pay.” They are mostly worried about speeding in construction areas. Perhaps they only hire the agile who are able to jump from in front of a car if it is only going 45.
Wyoming also has Truck Parking Areas. These are not rest stops, just a place where truckers can park. I guess whether or not they rest is up to them. But I wondered about the car I saw sitting among the trucks. Are the WHP (Wyoming Highway Patrol) going to roust the guy out for resting in his car in a truck rest area?
We also had the joy of crossing the continental divide… three times, the other day. If that alone does not make one wonder, then the fact that we then proceeded to climb to a pass 8,600+ feet many miles afterward may give you pause. The continental divide-s were only 7000 feet or so. You can see my wonder at these marvels. The idea of the divide is that water is going to run to the Pacific or Atlantic, and there is a division where this happens. I suppose that the mountains to the South are lower and that water, should it so desire, can run East to the Rio Grande (I am not using the “River” tag, as Rio means river… but I digress,) and on to the Gulf of Mexico. This could happen before the 8,600 foot pass to the North. Ruth looked at the map, and to tell you the truth, most water will evaporate in the sun before it reaches the sea. But, some of the water joins other water and I guess somebody figured out which streams were headed where for all three continental divides. But, you do have to wonder about the water between the divides… does it find a place to the North where it can make it to the Colorado River to the South?
At the risk of being more boring than usual, there is one other oddity concerning road signs that has crossed my mind. In Nebraska, they proudly announce that fines for speeding in a construction zone will be $1000 and all other fines will be doubled. This begs the question, what other fines? I know there is the odd littering fine but are they thinking it is more dangerous to litter in a construction zone? I suppose if you hit a worker with your beer can it could cause injury. As to other fines, I guess if some joker gets picked up in a construction zone for having a trunk full of dope and AK-47s he is going to have to spend six weeks in jail whereas if he got picked up selling drugs to kids in town he would only have to spend three weeks in jail.
Someone must have known. These things aren’t chosen at random, are they?