Today is the anniversary of a bridge collapse. Most of the town held its breathe to see who would make it home that Wednesday evening from work.
The things we take for granted. Those were the things we tried to say Grace over.
In the past 12 months, Minnesotans were learning that the bridge story really began with the construction of the bridge. The study of history was always like this. Take it from a history major. An interest in history always started in the present day. Inquiring minds wanted to know how something came to be. What were the factors?
And this story was a lot like the story of creation. Something in my life drew me back to another day. Another day when there was no bridge. When there was no money or engineering to have cars and trucks and bridges. Or reason. Before the community decided we needed a bridge and who would all pay for it. The creation story eventually evolved into one of maintenance. That bridge was there the day I got my driver’s license. I took it for granted.
I never gave thought to who built that bridge or how it was constructed or maintained. Or the cost. I never had used it that much. But I still had crossed it in the course of business travel. It could have been me in the river. Like any memorial day, we celebrate those of us alive. And those of us we miss. Including those who had come together to create that bridge so that life in the future could be easier.
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