Holiday TraveloguesNCHS Superintendent Notes – December 21, 2016

By Ernie Fowler – Nashville CHSD #99

efowler@nashville-k12.org

We are in the middle of holiday season as Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is only four days away.

Many folks will be traveling to visit family and friends in all parts of the state and throughout the country. I’m not big on traveling by air, or rail, or sea. I tend to stick with the highways to get me around.

I am finding it more difficult, however, to get to where I am going due to what seems to be never ending road construction.

I’m not an expert in the building industry but I frequently wonder why it seems that a whole building can be built in shorter time than it takes to repair bridge overpass. Where is the roadwork warranty?

It seems that the same stretch of road can be repaired and in no time it is under construction again!

I don’t believe there has ever been a time that I-57 has been free of road work.

In particular, roadwork seems to always be taking place around Mt. Vernon and Marion. I believe the people working on the roads are playing games with drivers. There is always a guess as to which lane is open and which is closed. The game takes a tougher turn at night when it is more difficult to see which side of the barrels to drive on. Additionally, the drive is made more perilous when bright flashing lights hit the eyes of the driver rendering them momentarily blind.

My blood pressure elevates when I see a sign such as “Right Lane Closed Ahead”.

Even worse is that taunting message sent from the depths of Hades…..”Expect a 30 minute delay”!

Why do drivers insist on driving in the pending closed lane right up until the last possible minute? Don’t they know that it is their selfishness that causes the 30 minute delay as they crowd into the open lane!

I learned that truckers will often team up in an effort to keep the egomaniacs in their place. Yes, they drive side by side so that drivers cannot zoom up in the closing lane.

One lane roads slow things down but, if everyone will simply get in the open lane as soon as possible, the lane will keep moving.

It isn’t the single file line that is the problem. It is the bottleneck caused by overly aggressive folks that causes us to sit for so long.

With the holiday season upon us, let’s all vow to do our part to keep traffic moving. Let’s try to keep our cool as we travel. Let’s keep the holiday spirit up and our middle fingers down even as we share the trip with the occasional road hog.

Road repair is a necessary evil.

Thankfully Santa travels by flying sleigh.

If he had to travel I-57, children may not receive their presents until January 25.

Merry Christmas to all and to Santa a good flight!

Holiday Travelogues