They're straightening it.
See, we live in the "hill country" of Central Texas; a place of immeasurable beauty I have come to love deeply. The hills are not very high, but they have such great character. You can stand on one and look around and count five or six or 10 more. The valleys at the bottom normally have water on beautiful limestone beds and, at the right time of year, wildflower beauty unmatched anywhere on earth.
Our small neighborhood and the little towns that surround it are built on pure limestone rock. Our houses are in valleys or perched atop hills and our roads follow ancient paths of the animals, horse paths and carts for the most part. We have many curving, and steep roads.
We live just west of 'Hard Hill". Its called Hard Hill by folks around here because many vehicles find it hard to get to the top. Many times I am on my way to town and find a path of orange triangles or lit flares leading to a heavy truck of some kind stalled on the right hand side of the road waiting for help. You can imagine how these people standing on that hard hill appreciate the straight and level byways of the more civilized roads in town.
The road crews can't do much for Hard Hill, but they ARE beginning a long-talked about plan to straighten the S curves that lie just east of it. Those turns are very popular with motorcyclists heading into the hills. Popular too, with men in shiny red sports cars, teens allowed some automotive freedom and others who like to drive fast. Its a fun road for some people.
Me? Not so much. Not because of the road so much, but because I have to share it with people who clearly, do not think, nor drive the way I do.
Its also sad, to count the roadside crosses on the way into town. From our neighborhood road to the first shopping plaza there are about 6 of them. One place has three little crosses in a row. The saddest cross is for a little 5 yr old girl who died on her way to kindergarten. That one usually has fresh decorations. I wonder about what the crew will do when they reach the crosses. Will they call someone to move them? Will they move the shrines themselves?
Most of the wrecks on this road happen when its wet and someone loses control and crosses the center lines along those S curves. Sometimes its someone turning left, right in the middle of the S's. That's a rough place to turn left, even during the broad daylight, in nice weather.
So my daughter and I were on our way to a music recital this evening. We were a little late, as usual, but not by a lot, maybe a minute or two.
We never made it to the recital. Not because anything happened to US, but because a roll over accident happened about a dozen cars in front of us and completely blocked the road. About an hour and a half later, we were able to move, pass the accident and turn around and go home.
I'm really glad Lauren was in the truck with me. I have sat, on that road, and watched other events like this one, sometimes seeing the helicopters come and take away the broken bodies. I have watched when the white sheets are pulled up over the victims faces. I usually don't do very well in these situations, I usually sit and cry and think of my brother laying on a road in Kansas.
Just 12 cars ahead of us tonight someone lost control on the hill and rolled his truck and trailer into on coming traffic. We missed being involved by maybe a minute. Maybe two. Certainly no more than that.
40,000 Americans die on the road every year. I'm sorry we missed the recital, but I am not sorry to have missed the close up drama of the rollover, either to have seen it or to have been in it. I hope the people involved in this wreck don't miss Christmas or New Year's, I hope their families don't have to plan a funeral rather than open presents or pop champagne.
I hope I don't see a seventh cross on the road.
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