By Staff
I sighed heavily. I'll even go so far as to say I fussed some. But now that the worst part is through, the newly paved portion of Forrest Avenue is so smooth, I could apply lipstick while riding in my car.
This past week found more than just a few folks clamoring to get to &#8220the other side of town” as the paving project continued in our area. With the paving on Wednesday being done on Mildred Street from the Murder Creek Bridge to the railroad tracks, it was a mess at 5 p.m.
Using the word &#8220mess” to describe the traffic that afternoon is like saying someone is a &#8220little” pregnant. It was chaotic, time consuming and down right maddening because of the length of time it to to get across town.
I know I wasn't alone in my anger or agitation Wednesday afternoon. I don't think there are any cars in Detroit these days. They were all stuck downtown in Brewton. There must have been a couple thousand vehicles in the area that leads from Douglas Avenue, South Boulevard, Mildred Street, Lee Street and from points in East Brewton.
I thought I would be really smart and dodge the mess of snarled traffic downtown and go under the tracks to get closer to my East Brewton destination - bad mistake.
I sat in one of the longest lines of traffic I can remember in recent years. I was enjoying the Christmas music on my radio during my entrapment, but I did have an appointment to get to and it was getting later and later.
I wasn't the only person who decided the Ann Street route was a bad idea. I decided to turn around and take a different route after about 10 of the others stuck there made that decision. I followed them for a way, but ultimately broke off from the pack and tried to make my way on my own.
I did make it to the intersection of Mildred and Green streets by Peterson's Furniture after waiting an additional 28 minutes in the traffic jam. Now, mind you I was kind to others while I suffered through this dilemma. I let at least five people get into the moving line of traffic ahead of me when I had the opportunity.
Having left the office a few minutes before 5 p.m., I was now among the lucky that had gotten to the &#8220other side of town.” Now mind you, the distance from the office to the Murder Creek Bridge can't be more than two and a half miles at the most. The trip, in my sitting and decisions to take a different route, only took me 54 minutes.
Come on now, don't be jealous. If it took you a little longer to get through, then I'm sure you got your checkbook balanced, your purse or wallet cleaned out of unwanted paper and trash, you probably even picked up a few scrapes of paper from your floorboard and put them in the drink cup to throw away. You also had the opportunity to sing along with some great radio music - Christmas and otherwise.
It's amazing what a few still moments alone in a car will do to some people.
By the way, to the lady in the blue car with a Hawaiian lei around the rearview mirror, your hair looked great when you finished, and I don't quite think I've ever heard &#8220Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” sung as beautifully as I did Wednesday night.
Lisa Tindell is a news writer for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by e-mail at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com.