For over a year they have been working on a project to widen Brawley School Road and hopefully someday soon it will be done. I just can't hardly stand the road construction in Mooresville anymore. Not for your typical reasons. I honestly don't mind the traffic all that much. On my side of Brawley there is rarely any traffic. I don't understand this phenomenon considering they are building a new overpass on the interstate. You would think we would have some serious delays, but alas, our end is the "good end." You would have to live in Mooresville to understand.
No, no, my frustration isn't of the average kind. I drive down the streets, such as I did this morning, and marvel at the tons of concrete being poured every single day. I don't mean to start a political or environmental debate, nor do I even really know the true affects of all that concrete being dumped in a small amount of space. I just don't like it. It doesn't sit well with me.
Every day we watch them tear up old concrete, pour down new. Tear up old, pour down new. Bulldozers and tractors, men working hard, sweating hard. Pulling and pushing. All this work. And we get a very unattractive stretch of black top. It just seems unreal.
I understand the implications of the widening project. Less traffic, faster drive times. But all for what? So we can zoom in and out of our lives. Moving so quickly from one place to another with little time to wonder where we are going and what we are doing.
I swear I'm not trying to be deep and philosophical, but the construction just rubbed me the wrong way this morning. And to be fair, it did so even before my stint in Africa. But for just one minute, lets compare our lives to Africa. The people of Africa move a bit slower. As you watch them walk from place to place, they sort of glide over the sand with a grace that Mekua (rich white Americans) don't possess. We fumble, pick our feet up too high, try to move too quickly, and wind up moving slower still. Walking on sand is not easy, but they have it down to a science.
Through the eyes of an African, what would they see of our daily life? Would they wonder why we insist on getting to work 10 minutes faster, only to return home and utilize those 10 minutes on the couch in front of the television instead of walking next door to greet our neighbors? Would they wonder why we put one person in each individual car and then all drive in the same direction every day? Why not pool our resources? Would they marvel at these tons of concrete as I do, and wonder what is the point? And where does it all come from? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps they would fall right into line with our way of life and never look back.
I like my life here. I enjoy the conveniences. Certainly I enjoy TCBY! And my gym! And my car! And obviously, I enjoy the wide and open roads to drive my car down. Indoor plumbing and electricity-also conveniences I enjoy very much! But what is the cost of our possessions? All these things to make life faster and easier, but what are we doing with our extra time? Or should I say, what am I doing with my extra time?
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