Alleged Road Repairs

We have a strange concept of “road repairs” in Ingham County, Michigan. Or maybe everywhere.

Rather than do something good and worthwhile, SOP here is to lay down a coat of tar, then cover it with a layer of pea-stone gravel. That’s it. Done. Walk away. Go get a beer. In the olden days I think the road crews used to bring out “steam rollers” and roll the gravel out and down into the tar. Not anymore. Now they just go away and subcontract the work to us, the citizens, to tamp down and level out the gravel with our tires. What, so I’m working for the county now? And providing my own equipment? For no pay? Just the risk of a cracked windshield and chipped paint? I’m not even getting the benefit of free undercoating from the tar. I should call National Labor Relations Board.

I probably wouldn’t be so irate if I thought they road crew might come back someday in the future and at least paint some lines down the middle of the road, to say nothing of the edges–which disappear into the ditches at night, and especially at night in the rain. Pretty soon we’ll be doing that, too, I suppose. I’m already bagging my own groceries at the grocery store. (I think I might be scheduled to go in and stock the shelves every other Tuesday at 2:00am, but I’m not sure.)

One of these days I’ll try to sneak some discreet photos of some Road Worthy Vehicles for your enjoyment. In Michigan, if it moves, it’s road worthy. And legal. Believe it. (By my observation, you don’t even need to renew your vehicle registration. Like, ever. But that’s a topic for another day.)