The excavator rumbles on its treads into position in front of my main window. A water pipe that has been in place for decades is being replaced. This is being done because I as a human being live within a system where we have collectively agreed to cover the costs for such an action to take place.
I found about this project in March when there was a note on my door saying construction would begin in three days. That was all of the notification I had and I tried to look up information about the project online. This was difficult to find and ultimately resulted in a phone number I could call.
I was angry about this for a minute until they began work. That was nearly six months ago now and at the moment I hear the whine of a powerful tool cutting up the asphalt. Cars stream by in waves as there is a temporary traffic signal regulating movement of vehicles.
I'm used to this now, like I'm used to the new school gymnasium that is close to my house. There's also a new road that leads to a new parking lot. I knew that eventually there might be an expansion so I've come to terms with it over time. I live in a community that decided to prioritize this project over a big streetscape. I wrote a lot of stories about all of that, as well as so many other stories about water and sewer projects.
As I type this, I have a fear that we're closer than ever to a time when we have outright warfare in this country because people have been pit against each other. I think a lot about leaving to escape what I fear. There are many shootings across the country every day for guns are plentiful and lionized.
Dust pours out of the roadway as it's torn apart to provide access to the pipes underneath. I don't know the details of what's going on, but I can walk over and get clean drinking water because I live in a system where that's come to be expected.
I no longer feel I'm going to have a major political statement to make. I do know that over my career I've written about the nuts and bolts because I'm aware that all of this can come crashing down if people are turned against each other to the point of violence.
I've felt it in my bones for years that things were going to get loose. One might say that the violence came to Charlottesville that summer in 2017, but that's just part of a bigger picture. I don't feel I can write out what's on my mind because I must be the one to describe the motion of the excavator.
 |
| "It was a typical English morning..." |
Comments