Has it really come to this?
Not to be too churlish about this, but have we fallen so far as a people that a half-mile walk through the woods calls for a New York Times article and a nation-wide round of self-applause?
Hurricane Irene left an astonishing mess on Vermont and elsewhere, and I would never minimize that. One community there has had paved access to the rest of the world cut off, so they have taken to using an unpaved path into town, largely by foot. They drive or shuttle to one end, walk the half mile through the forest, then catch school buses or whatever on the other end.
The New York Times wrote about it here.
Hurricane Irene had washed away large stretches of the road down from Killington, Route 4. Huge craters left Route 100 impassable.
But on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 7:55 a.m., three days after the storm closed down much of the state, the four school buses pulled up right on time, and off hopped 18 children from the dark side of the mountain (their electricity was still out).
“They were so proud,” Ms. Prescott said.
They had reason to be. Their families had discovered a half-mile-long forest path that they could walk, from Route 4 across the mountain to their school bus. At first, the woods were still and unsettling. “My hands shaked a little bit,” said Jillian Bradley, a second grader.
. . .
Porta-Pottys donated by A1 Sewer and Drain have been placed at each end of the forest trail. Volunteers sit under tent canopies supplied by Celebration Rentals, giving out sandwiches, beverages, doughnuts, gummy bears and red licorice. Six golf carts from Green Mountain National Golf Course transport the elderly and infirm. All-terrain vehicles from Central Vermont Motorcycles and the Hendy Brothers John Deere dealership are used for safety patrols.
Okay, so I’m a churl. But safety patrols? Nourishment? Porta-Pottys? For a half mile walk?? Are we really that helpless and pitiful when a half mile of our pavement is taken away?
–EBR
September 12th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
I am surprised that the didn’t have guides to hold their hands for the long trek through the woods. But yes, it has come to this.
September 13th, 2011 at 10:13 am
When you bear in mind the paths are unlit, and Vermont does have coyotes, and that the town has its share of the elderly..
September 13th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
VT got hit pretty hard, and they should be applauded for their actions to deal with this disaster.
But, two observations are right-on:
1. Vermont, like most sprawled-out places, have become so car dependent that walking though woods or along roads doesn’t happen much anymore. A big problem.
2. People have lost touch with the natural world, even in rustic Vermont. This is something that can be remedied.
September 14th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Red licorice? Really? Black licorice maybe, but red licorice: that’s just lame.