Poor Planning or a Sadistic Plot

I’d like to commend all of you today.  Why?  Driving in Boone is not for the faint of heart.  Recent construction has slowed you down as old bridges were modified, lanes closed due to the reapplication of asphalt.  Those inconveniences however were minor compared to the current attempt by the DOT to confuse and bewilder drivers. 

  

Your first but minor challenge is foisted upon you as you enter Boone from 421 traveling west.  You pass Food Lion at the intersection of the old and new 421. 

Mac Brown Chevrolet is on the right, hidden almost due to the road construction and Nissan to the left.  The speed limit is reduced from 55 to 45.  Then, you come to the light at Bamboo.  If you are going straight, you have two lights indicating to go on green or stop on red.  In the far left lane, you have a light, which changes from a no left turn arrow, to a green left turn arrow, and for most of the time, you get an amber turn left arrow but with caution. 

The only confusing part of this intersection is for those turning left.  Traffic coming from the west travelling east has the benefit of two lights indicating stop and go, however, there is a right turn lane, with no light.  Only a yield sign. 

When west bound traffic has a caution signal, and east bound has a yield, then there is something of a reverse game of chicken, each waiting for the other to go, with cars lurching forward, looking like a couple of boxers faking a move to confuse the other.

I will give the DOT credit for one thing.  Traveling west, they make it easy for drivers by putting one light for each of the three lanes; two lights that signal when to go forward into the two lanes and one light signaling a left turn onto Bamboo. 

The challenge has been minor so far.  It gets more interesting and challenging as you proceed west to Boone.  You are approaching the intersection at 105.  The median strip extends from the Toyota dealership all the way to 105.  That means, all the traffic from Toyota, the  laundry mat, Farthing Street, pawn shop, car wash and more must turn right, and hustle over to the far left of four lanes to make a U-turn to head back east.  Waiting for your left turn arrow so you can make a u-turn, you notice a confusing sign hanging next to the left turn only light.  It reads “U-turn yields to right turn.”  This means that if a vehicle is turning right from 105, the u-turner must give them the right of way, despite having a green arrow to turn left. 

What most don’t know is  the u-turner AND those turning right from 105 both have a green arrow AT THE SAME TIME.  Yikes!

Let’s continue driving west on King Street.  The new median strip extends from 105 down to 321 where the Dan’l Boone Inn provides southern style cooking “family style”. 

Here we find the most sadistic of intersections including the suicidal left turn combined with poor signage and disappearing lanes.

To make a u-turn, you still have the problem where U-turners and right turners from 321 converge upon each other.  But there is more.  Heading west, there are four lights.  There are two left turn only lights for two turning lanes.  there are two lights that seem to indicate two lanes going straight. But only one lane goes straight.  I’ve seen some might fancy lane changes at that intersection as the person in the middle lane is expecting to go straight but discovers there is nowhere to go. 

All this confusion could be easily circumvented with some well placed signs.  There are arrows painted on the black top, indicating the left two lanes must turn left, and the right lane goes straight.  This  doesn’t do a whole lot of good when traffic is bumper to bumper and you can’t even see the road.  All it would take is a couple of those road direction signs on the side of the road, about 7 feet up.  Three signs.  Two left turn arrows and one with an arrow point straight ahead.  I bet they could install it for less than the cost of a replacement fender or bumper on an old Chevy truck.   If they really want to do it up right, they could put two left turn lights and one light for going straight. 

Boone is not an easy place to drive. 

I suggest we quit blaming our driving frustrations on the tourists, or college kids and start placing the responsibility right where it belongs…on the DOT.  I would have personally gone to their office and complained but I can’t seem to find a good road with signs that will get me there.  

Why bother with high school reunions?

What would make you spend lots of hours in a car, spend money despite being on a tight budget, endure the daytime temperatures of 94 and above, to go to a bar one night, and a dinner/dance on another to see 200 people, only a few of which you even know.  The only common denominator among those folks is this.  About 40 years ago, you walked down the same halls of a high school and inhaled their exhaled co2.  You may have best friends and shared great times with some.  Most however were names and faces but nothing that could be construed as a friendship.  The cynic in me would say, why bother.  I can see the few friends I have from those days when I want to without the social stress involved.  I trust there are some cynical classmates that deprived themselves of an opportunity to create new friendships, that will possibly last the rest of their lives. 

Let’s revisit the cynic who rationalizes that those that do go must have hidden agendas and ulterior motives.  Those might include, seeing how everyone “turned out.”  Who made money, who didn’t, who became a professional whatever, and who didn’t.  Who gained weight, and who is still a hot?  And consciously or unconsciously, most will think, “How do I compare?”  Morbid thoughts but ask yourself if any of those thoughts crossed your mind.  If these are the reasons that you went, I suspect, you discovered better benefits to your attendance.

Here’s my impression.  Many have stayed the same…but only in some ways, but all have changed as well.  Physically, the voices are the same but maybe the words have change, topics have changed some, vocabulary is specialized.  The grins that spread across our faces then are much the same.  A comparison of high school photos with current show the same impish grin of days gone by.   I found the eyes more wise and kinder.  After 40 years, we have all experienced deep joys and deep sorrow. That would include lovers come and gone, parents, children and even mates that died too young. For some of us, our own health provides daily challenges and disappointments.  Many of us now have grand children, and to talk about them is shared joy, something only grandparents understand.

For many, old inhibitions and uncertainties that kept us silent and isolated back then no longer have power.  Whatever mattered then just doesn’t matter now. False assumptions became clarified this weekend.  You might have heard someone say “I thought you were one of the ???? kids” Only to be shocked to hear that one’s perception of self was quite different.  Several shared my sentiment about high school.  It was often a scary place, where I was unsure of myself, and uncertain where I fit in.  I felt like a social misfit but I can’t explain why.  From the outside looking in, it seemed I had everything going for me.  I just didn’t know it.  My shyness may have been misinterpreted as being stuck up. 

Grades, looks, and academic achievements that seemed to be the end all back then, are of little interest to us now.  We look at pictures of the houses we grew up in, which may have meant something then.  Now, it is nostalgic at best. Time is the great equalizer.  Where we are today is of far more importance than were we came from. 

Back to the original question.  Why go to a 40 year reunion.  For me, the reasons are numerous.  The best answer that might apply to us all has something to do with making a connection with ourselves long ago.  In a sense, I came to say I’m no longer who I was then.   I’m kinder and happier. My inhibitions no longer rule my behavior.   And yes, I’ve put on a few pounds…but I’m working on it.  In connecting with people with even the tiniest of common denominator, it is amazing to see where some have come from and where they are now. I am inspired by many of my classmates.  It is no longer competitive.  For me, I simply share in the joy and wonder of the human spirit, and am inspired by seeing what good people can overcome and accomplish.  I admire all of our efforts, and share in the sadness of hardships  or lossof so many of our classmates.

That small common denominator is just enough to renew acquaintances, and create new friendships that just might last the rest of our lives.  In a sense, the reunion was not just for a weekend.  The reunion is “to be continued.”