CAPITAL OF THE NATION-READY FOR EVACUATION?

The good ol' Washington Post really stuck its neck out with a bold prediction in their editorial, "Forecast: Gridlock" (Thursday, June 29, 2006). The subhead - "If rain can paralyze movement in downtown Washington, are we ready for a terrorist attack?" - pays tribute to Mother Nature's recent demonstration of raw power.

Should Maryland reconsider the decision to prevent I-95 being built into Washington,D.C.?
(The North Central Freeway was canceled in 1977.)

Without a throughway, traffic from I-95, north of town, is forced onto the beltway (495) and then onto streets to access downtown. This has caused a beltway bottleneck that has consumed extra time and fuel, every day, for years and years. (Not to mention stress and frustration and mishaps)

The same scenario plays out each evening, in reverse. But, commuters have the option of working late, waiting out traffic to enjoy a less stressful return to their homes. In the event of a full scale evacuation, we will all pile into a horrible mess of traffic that strains the imagination.

We must insist that I-95 (North Central Freeway) be built without delay! Invoke Homeland Security. Lives are at stake.

"Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure."
-Edward Eggleston, American Writer, Historian

INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE...

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Of course, by the time I finish and post this, it will be history... ok, as I write, it is already history. The date of the post is actually the date it was first saved "as draft" and is not always accurate, since I frequently need to break away from writing to tend to other matters. (Such as watching Stevie Wonder entertain the crowds on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., followed by stupendous fireworks and the traditional Souza music.)



This picture was taken (as were the others on this post) by my sweet wife, Laureen Summers. The "...for food.." sign was left in the car, since I needed both hands free for my extemporaneous dance/march performance and fanning steamy spectators with the front board, plus handing out home-made business cards ("free tickets to the website"). Not having had an opportunity like this to "ham it up" in many years, I took full advantage.

The hardest part of the sandwichboard construction was choosing what not to include. There was so much that I wanted to say that it was going to look like a Junior High Science Fair display (minus the dynamic aspects). To be readable from across the street, the display had to be very limited... so, much was eliminated to make room to enlarge. I decided to leave some messages small so that I could gauge audience interest. (The limited supply of cards would go to those who made some effort to read the finer print.)









Here is the front side, clearly exposing the fact that my lettering skills are a bit rusty. (Calligraphy was never my strong suit.)
















Below- on the march... and ... "the fine print" is revealed.














































If you are really serious about working for world peace, why not start on the road?








Those are two philosophers you don't usually find, side-by-side, but, I think they help make the point.












Maybe I will share the rejects, next time. Until then, drive kindly, everyone.

Did you see the "DANGER" Acrostic Challenge? It is at this previous post.

Have you ever seen a guy by the road holding a cardboard sign,
"Will traffic safety advocate for food?" Please, don't make me do this.
You know that I do have the sign.

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I am a big fan of The Darwin Awards,
because they make me laugh,(woo-hoo)
and partly because it teaches me
about stuff I should not do.
Here is the first post of this humble blog.
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