What a Difference 25 Minutes Can Make...
I don't mean to be one of those people who, after 9/11, said things like, "Oh my God, I was five miles away from the Twin Towers in 1995!" But the picture above shows where I drove 25 minutes before the collapse of the 35W bridge. I wasn't on the bridge; I was on the road it's pancaking at around 5:40 p.m.
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I spoke with all of my California relatives last night, to confirm that I wasn't on the bridge, etc. etc. -- my mother's comment was, "oh, I'm not going to drive on any bridges tomorrow." as if this disaster would have some kind of cosmic repercussions and affect all the other bridges in the world.
then today, walking through my workplace, I heard at least 3 different people make similar statements: "don't drive on any bridges," "I'm gonna watch out and avoid bridges from now on."
sure, there's something screwy with the state's (and nation's) infrastructure, and it could be this was the wake-up call that there are other bridges we should be taking a closer look at.
but the kind of magical thinking that says "bridge disaster in Mpls yesterday means there will be other bridge disasters today" is just plain goofy. cause-and-effect logic running amok in the realm of delusional associations.
my vaguely developed philosophy tugs at my sleeve and says "time and associated events are an illusion!" -- e.g., if the bridge hadn't collapsed yesterday, you would not be thinking now of how lucky you were.
that said, I'm glad you escaped the wreckage by almost half an hour -- we were on the 10th St. Bridge the night before, under a beautiful full moon...