thanks to the TLC my wife has given it, my Naked Lady blooms






Last week I observed something funny here in 56572.

As you may or may not know, almost ten percent of the drivers in 56572 were not born here. They were born and grew up on the winterless east coast of Africa. The PRPD's Chief's Dad, who has taught most of us to drive, teaches them too. They seem to prefer imports.

What I saw happened on South Broadway and 10th Avenue South, what locals might call Citgo Corner. A car was stopped facing south on US 59 signalling a left turn into Citgo. He was waiting for the van ahead of me, who, rather suddenly, decided he wanted to turn left too. What he wasn't sure of was whether he should turn left in front of the other vehicle or behind it. The confusion was obvious, but to be polite, he turned left behind the other car, which wasn't even really in the intersection, and came back up the shoulder to the intersection completing his roundabout left turn. He followed the African rules of the road and made it work. "They need a turning lane here," he told his passenger who was also shaking his head.

If you've ever been on African highways you may remember that most of them, if not one or two lane, are three lane with the middle lane being a turning lane. I call it the Chicken Lane. The only rule of the road is "Make it work." This is also for the reason for most bus drivers having the words Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) written across the front of their bus.

If you've ever tried to walk across a Beijing street without stoplights, you know that the rule of the road is: gather up every ounce of courage you have, step off the curb, start walking at a constant speed and do not even think about slowing down or stopping. This will force others using the road to re-calculate and could cause problems if they are returning to work inebriated from lunch.

If you've ever tried the same on a Latin American street, you know that the rule of the road is that cars, trucks, buses rule in order of size. They will not slow for you. They will not stop. Pobres pietones.

Getting back to 56572. Suppose you just arrived here from Eastern Africa. You are standing on the corner by Fences trying to get across Broadway to Wells Fargo. You know what the words "walk" and "don't walk" mean, cuz you don't have a car. You know that the PRPD now has four squads. You know you look different. So you start to cross, in the crosswalk of course, feeling very safe, when half way across the light starts to flash at you "Don't walk." Stop or return to the curb you came from? I despise standing at these lights at -20F waiting walk light to come on when nothing is coming from any direction. Can't I decide when it's safe to walk?

In these columns I have stressed the importance of learning from others different from us. All have something to teach us. This is especially true of the Dutch. Last week a Dutch traffic engineer got a lot of ink in the New York Times for his radical new idea on how to improve the flow and safety of traffic.

"His philosophy is simple, if counterintuitive. To make communities safer and more appealing, Mr. Monderman argues, you should first remove the traditional paraphernalia of their roads."

"That means the traffic lights and speed signs; the signs exhorting drivers to stop, slow down and merge; the center lines separating lanes from each other; even the speed bumps, speed-limit signs, bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings. In his view, it is only when the road is made more dangerous, when drivers stop looking at signs and start looking at other people, that driving becomes safer."

"All those signs are saying to cars, 'This is your space, and we have organized your behavior so that as long as you behave this way, nothing can happen to you,"' said Monderman. "That is the wrong story."

Think this would fly out in L.A. Pete?


Hot off the Press (Nice fish!)
Lead: Lots of work ahead as plans move forward for new school, Board Chair describes time as "exciting."
Lead Photo: Tooth Fairy sighting
Front: Fishing Derby Saturday, noon to 400 pm, North Lida
Front: Christmas decorations put away thanks to Loretel
Front: Final final call on Comp Plan
Front PRPD: Counterfeit $50 passed; Rash of local leash law non compliance; fewer PRPD calls in 2004
Jeff Boese does Yeoman's work at LSS Office
Editorial: Meth Wars worth fighting
Sports: Gillian Bjerke surpasses Rachel Longfors; also compared to Jim Knutson? Expect a correction next week;Tyler Lage beat Jimmy Knutson. two years ago! Varsity Boys BB 13-0, B Squad Boys BB 13-0.
Bowling News: Sunday Mixed Couples; GLD Lanes 1810, Monday Mens League; GLD Lanes 2353, Tuesday Coffee; Cowgirls 1780
Catch of the Week: Jerry Ashmore speared a seventeen pound one ounce Northern on Lida using a daredevil.

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Jeep Renegade - Pure Style - even with one mirror missing