So what do you do when road construction where you
live brings both good and bad news? Well let
me elaborate and then I will tell you what I decided to do and see if you agree. My
house is located at the apex of what is known as a U-shaped road so sitting on
my porch during the winter months when the vegetation is sparse; I can see
vehicles traveling the expanse for an unbelievable amount of time. The
good news is that we are getting a completely newly constructed road; the bad
news is we are getting a completely newly constructed road.
Our road has been patched so many times that it
finally qualified for a complete makeover but to get from damaged and repaired
pavement, to under construction, and then to completely new, will take the
patience of those who live here and the hard work of the construction crew. Because
I have always admired people who earn a living working outside, I try to be
respectful of their laboring and mindful that their workplace can be a dangerous
area to labor. Therefore, I wave and
acknowledge them every time I pass by the detours and slow zones and they
respond accordingly. I like to think that we
have become friends even though we do not know each other by name; we see each
other quite frequently during the week.
I have heard the construction noise for weeks but
it took them advancing in front of my driveway for me to encounter the workers
face to face sometimes several times a day. As
I pass by going to Curves, running errands and to the local grocery markets, I
continue to acknowledge them, sometimes even stopping and thanking them for what
they do. But, being the human person that I
am, several times during various phone conversations with friends, I have
complained about the noise and inconvenience. Sometimes
when they dump large amounts of used-up pavement into dump trucks the thundering
sound feels like another lake country earthquake.
So, while talking to my BFF Marcia, she suggested
what I already considered doing but never made up my mind when to put the plan
into effect. Marcia said I should make some
brownies for the workers and since I had already considered the same thing, I
decided that Friday afternoon
was the time to bake and share. Seeing the smile on several faces and knowing
that the chocolate goodies were going to be passed around to the other workers
was all the thanks I needed.
Sometimes when life throws you a curve ball, which
by the way will be a tremendous blessing when the construction is complete and
the road is brand new, the only thing to do is bake brownie and share. I
hope my readers will come to the same conclusion and perhaps consider doing
something similar one day. Once the
construction is over and forgotten, perhaps a worker will remember my gesture of
friendship and smile.
Brenda S. Brown