Broken Bridges

I heard about the latest disaster on the radio. Scary. But it looks like it won't be a huge death toll, thank God. Bridge disasters don't usually kill a lot of people, but the sudden failure of infrastructure feels like betrayal. The concrete drops, exposing the abyss. The lies on which we skim over the terrors of daily life have failed along with the girders, and the slow rebuilding of trust and trusses may take months.

This brings back bad memories for a lot of people: the Bay Bridge collapse in 1989 (earthquake), the wind-driven Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse (newsreel footage, complete with blasting music and announcer), and the recent Bay Bridge fire and collapse. And the Mianus River Bridge, and Schoharie, and all the mining disasters from Siberia to Centralia.

Tread carefully, friends.