It was a sunny afternoon and I was headed up 16th street going south on my way to a chiropractic appointment. The big orange sign on 16th street by Arrowhead Shopping Center was still in the alert mode. 16th street CLOSED south of 11th Avenue. Yep, same old sign, same old information and same old result…I started to subconsciously complain about having to re-route my trip to avoid the closed section of 16th street..and question to myself how long was this nonsense going to go on?
Ahead there were flashing lights, probably re-routing traffic for some other reason. But no, it appears they are moving barriers on 16th street? Really, the 3 blocks of orange cones and barrels is being removed. It can’t be! But sure enough there was a small army of workers carrying the cones and barrels to the sidewalks, clearing the road ahead. Cars were coming down the 16th street hill. Certainly, that must mean that 16th street is open. My journey was not re-routed. The extra 5 minutes I allowed was not necessary. Today was a good day!
Once I crossed 11th avenue and headed up the hill there was a pickup coming down the hill, flashers on, pumping his fist and honking his horn. It was a one pickup parade kind of like one of those World Series Championship parades, minus the ticker tape and about 500 more cars. People were waving back to him as they finally were able to once again use 16th street. He was shouting “Yes, 16th street is open!” The little things in life that can mean so much.
But having 16th street open to traffic is only half of the story. As I was headed home, back down 16th street, I was quickly reminded of how colorful the Souris River valley can be in the fall. The view from the top of 16th street is panoramic and this time of year it is very colorful. Hints of orange, yellow and occasional glimpses of red in the tree lined valley, albeit short lived sometimes because of our wind, is one more of those little things to appreciate about living in North Dakota.
A few more of the little things that we sometimes forget to appreciate. We just got back from a trip to California and I can certainly appreciate the lack of traffic on our roads compared to rush hour in Los Angeles. I complained loud and hard all summer about it taking an extra 5-10 minutes to get from north Minot to south Minot because of road construction. We are talking minutes here, and not hours for our commutes. Another little thing to enjoy is the price of gasoline in North Dakota. Complain about $3.00 per gallon gas but realize that in a lot of communities in California that first number on the gas pump is a “5”, as in gas over $5.00 per gallon.
I think it certainly fair to say that there are a lot of little things that make life in North Dakota, and Minot, more tolerable. I’m certainly not going to deny that the cooler temperatures, the shorter days and soon the addition of wind chills as part of our weather forecast won’t have me complaining. It’s just human nature. But think of the guy who was so excited about 16th street reopening that he staged his own parade. You might say that he overreacted a bit, but I say that he took time to enjoy one of the little things that makes life special.
Putting Your Shoulder To The Wheel
My Dad used to say that big things can be accomplished by putting your shoulder to the wheel. Wreaths across America is a program that through fund raising and thousands of volunteer hours puts a Christmas wreath on every veteran’s grave. In Minot, the Civil Air Patrol has been the group that has continued to put their shoulder to the wheel on Wreaths Across America. Got some extra time and resources? They can certainly use your help. Go to Minotwreaths.org.
Today’s Chuckle
The reason that you’re only young once is that your body couldn’t take it twice in a row.
