"My friends, here we go, its spring again in BC. The sun is out so your spirits are high, and you香蕉视频直播檙e driving along in your noble rust-bucket chariot of the people: your pickup truck. Either inherited or indebted, you, your dog, and your fishing pole cherish the freedom it gives you香蕉视频直播�.in fact you are thinking, while grinning 香蕉视频直播渨hy don香蕉视频直播檛 they call these pick up trucks 香蕉视频直播渇reedom tools香蕉视频直播�?香蕉视频直播攁ll it needs is a road, some steely grit, and some fuel! 香蕉视频直播�- then BOOM!香蕉视频直播攍ike a depth charge from the tarmac gods香蕉视频直播攜our teeth clack, your coffee defies gravity, your dog barks, seemingly at your fishing pole, that launches toward the moon.
As you think about your beloved pickup truck's suspension, your soul briefly leaves your body, as if looking down from space, like your fishing pole currently is. You香蕉视频直播檝e hit it香蕉视频直播ο憬妒悠抵辈ウ The pothole. A crater not dug by humanity but born of municipal neglect, frost heaves, and existential irony. A sinkhole of hope. A bowl of woe.
The pothole, my friends, is the unscheduled Town-Hall meeting of the road for every individual. Why haven香蕉视频直播檛 my taxes gone to filling these holes with more asphalt? Why does the ideally smooth rhythm of the road sound more like the syllabic 5-7-5 of a haiku through my suspension? You think香蕉视频直播hen you act!
You go to municipal buildings to complain, but the Town Hall is closed for an emergency seminar on fiscal restraint and how best to host Town Hall meetings. The receptionist香蕉视频直播檚 chair is filled with a potted plant. You write an email, and receive a reply saying the municipality appreciates your concern and that road improvements are currently under 香蕉视频直播渟trategic review,香蕉视频直播� which, roughly translated, means 香蕉视频直播渨e香蕉视频直播檒l fix it in another budget cycle when the stars align and the CEO香蕉视频直播檚 cousin who owns the paving company lowers his prices.香蕉视频直播�
Now, municipal taxes. Oh, sweet municipal taxes, collected with the mechanical cheerfulness of a bureaucratic but startlingly perky robot. You pay them annually, semi-annually, or in instalments, with the same feeling one reserves for tipping an invisible waiter who hasn香蕉视频直播檛 brought your food. 香蕉视频直播淭his,香蕉视频直播� the town councils say, 香蕉视频直播渋s for police, for fire services, for your library.香蕉视频直播� And you nod, because books and hydrants are good. But then you ask about roads, and an elected official mutters something about 香蕉视频直播渋nfrastructure deficit香蕉视频直播� and slips out the side door.
Meanwhile, your tires have become oval in lieu of circular, and your axle wants to join a support group. Children begin naming the local potholes like adopted sea otters at the Vancouver Aquarium. 香蕉视频直播淭hat香蕉视频直播檚 Tofino,香蕉视频直播� they say. 香蕉视频直播淪he has been here since Easter.香蕉视频直播� The clever kids, though, start painting numbers on each of them and set up a mini-putt course, since they don香蕉视频直播檛 have a pool to play in like the sea otters.
And yet the Mayor unveils the budget, not wearing a tie, whimsically and somehow magically explains the trajectory of it all, and says the levy will only increase by 2.5%, which is the same amount the moon moves away from the Earth each year香蕉视频直播攕o, you know, basically nothing.
But you pay it. You pay it and drive carefully. You swerve like a ballerina dodging landmines on the way to Swan Lake, also known as your favourite fishing hole. You pray to the ghost of asphalt past and the moon. And at night, in the silence of the traffic circle and lonely bike paths, you swear you hear the potholes whisper:
香蕉视频直播淔reedom is not Free香蕉视频直播�
Douglas Zhivago
