GUEST BLOGGER: Gil Reavill
Jean invited me to fill in for her while she is on the road to Boston, meeting booksellers.
A road crew is out working on the private dirt road that leads to our cabin. It’s not as simple as it sounds, fixing a pothole in a dirt road. Dig it up, fill it in and–here’s the important part–pound it flat. Six pieces of heavy machinery, including two front loaders, a mini steam roller, a couple dump trucks. The workers (whom we had no hand in hiring, the road being the purlieu of our neighbors) all Hispanic, which made me wonder how many of them were undocumented. Difficult not to see it as a small political tableau playing out right next door. Some folks in this country would render these workers, unless they had proper documentation, persona non grata. Check their papers, jail ’em, ship ’em off home.
Robert Frost is down for good fences, but I think good roads make for good neighbors. There’s a political movement abroad that would have none of this. The angry ones drive to their demonstrations over tax-supported roads to complain about high taxes. Gary Trudeau, in one of his strips, had the GOP candidates testify what they think there’s too much of in America. Romney, said, “Taxes!” Santorum said “Government!” but Ron Paul said “Roads!”
Right off the road where the workers were, along our driveway, there is a great stand of cedars that is one of my favorite places in all of Cabinworld. A stand of cedars that catches the light in a new way every day. No photo can do it justice, but here’s one anyway.
Jean Zimmerman 