All This for Four Feet of Pavement!

I live in the north so usually the orange construction barrels come out in late February in our area.  This year the major street near our house was blocked off for construction in the early spring.  The crews started taking out the medians and chewing up the pavement with large machines.  We found out that they were installing bike lanes on this one mile stretch of a major north/south street on our side of town. 

So for months we have endured closed lanes, two lanes of traffic compressed into one lane and barrels and road blocks.  Then in April and May the rains came.  We had one of the rainiest springs ever this year so road construction came to a stand still for weeks. 

Once the rain stopped and the skies cleared the construction did not continue.  We all watched for weeks as we were waiting in traffic in this area and there would be no one working.  People began complaining and the powers that be in our city said that the construction had been delayed because of the rain.  Sure, but for weeks after the rain stopped!  There is nothing more discouraging that sitting in traffic day after day and there is NO ONE working on the project.  Then we heard that the company that bid the job had to move onto other projects because of the rain delay.  What!  It seems to me that they would be required to finish what they started before moving on to other tasks. 

The contractor secured a one month extension on the project, so something that was supposed end September 1 was extended until October first.  Lately, as we get closer and closer to the beginning of October the activity has been picking up and lanes have been reopened. 

Collateral damage from this project was our little side streets and the streets in our small neighborhood.  As all these drivers sought to find ways around the traffic congestion they found our neighborhood and we were deluged with lines of commuters trying to get to work in the morning and get home in the evening.  Needless to say that now our streets are all torn up and we are not even close to the list to get them repaved.

So as they are opening lanes we are finding new pavement, new lane lines and a four foot wide bike path.  We went through months and months of congestion, traffic, accidents, horns blowing and people being generally nasty, as well as our now torn up streets for four feet of pavement for bike riders.

Was it all worth it? 

No more excuses!

Ever since I was a child I have been told that I am too quiet.  My mother said I needed to get over my shyness.  I was too brainy and did not join in with other children.  She tried to help me overcome my quietness by dropping me off at several week-long camps, or taking dance lessons or pushing me into the spotlight with music lessons.  I know she meant well but I continued to be quiet and "too brainy" by her description.

As I became an adult and continued my journey through education and psychology I later realized that what she called shyness was really introversion.  What she called shyness was really my need to draw my energy from quiet activities, reading, needlework, gardening and walking my dogs.  I am really not that terribly shy, I am just not a person who needs to be in the spotlight all the time.  I find my self a good second in command, the person behind the person.  I also can take the lead, I do it several times a week when I am teaching college classes. 

There is now a movement, started by author Susan Cain, for those of us who are introverts.  After completing her book "Quiet" and making the promotional rounds about her research and writing Susan Cain started the "Quiet Revolution" where she talks about all things that make those of us who are introverts the way we are.  In spite of our need for quiet pursuits we make good leaders (we are better listeners) and we don't shy away from making decisions, we just put a little more thought into them than someone who is more impulsive. 

Susan Cain's talk, The Power of Introverts, on Ted.com (http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts) is one of the most watched videos on that web site.  I often show it in the psychology classes I teach when we are covering the topic of personality.  Invariably I will get an email from a student after that talk thanking me for helping them to not feel like such a freak in this world filled with extroverts and those who draw their energy from crowds. 

I am coming to realize that those of us who are introverts really enjoy finding someone with similar traits to ours because other like-minded and quiet-seeking introverts are not trying to suck all the oxygen from a room with their expansive personalities. 

So no more excuses.  I am the person I am, quiet and all.  I am no longer going to feel like I have to explain or pretend to be someone I am not just to fit in.  If the extroverts don't like it they can just keep talking to each other. 

Rest in Heaven, Cowfan!

Things have been a little sad recently.  My husband and I learned that one of our longtime friends died recently. 

Bob(my husband) met Ty while Ty was still in college.  He asked my husband for a job working at the concerts my husband produced.  Bob hired Ty as a runner, someone who works the day of show getting items for the band and their road crew.  From that beginning Ty became a friend to both of us for over 30 years. 

Ty had nicknames for everyone.  Bob was "the Bald One" and I was "C-Mac"  He was in our lives through jobs, the birth of our son, the ups and downs of his life, the birth of our grandson and my graduation with a doctorate.  The last few years Ty fell on some hard times, often struggling financially.  Several times Bob would see Ty riding his bicycle and give him a ride to where ever he was going.  We knew he had cancer and was getting treatment. 

One thing Ty did annually was host a NFL weekly football pool.  Bob participated in it annually and it made the football season more fun for him, matching wits with Ty and others in the pool on who made the best picks for the week.  When Ty did not send out his announcement for this year Bob was worried that his cancer had come back.  I did some research on Facebook and found out Ty had died on August 10.  He died surrounded by people who loved him.  Somehow through the vagaries of the workings of Facebook I did not see all the posts about Ty's final days, passing and memorial service.  So Bob and I are mourning his passing ourselves. 

I know that as Ty stepped from this world into Jesus' arms in heaven he was no longer in pain or suffering from the affects of cancer and its treatments.  It's a sad NFL season for Bob and anyone else who knew Cowfan (Ty's name in the pool). 

Rest in Heaven, Cowfan!  Know that you are loved and remembered fondly, especially on football Sundays when the NFL is playing.  We will miss you.