In a land that seems locked in various phases of ice snow and something we call winter
for most of the year, the few months that we associate with summer are actually more
like a few precious days. Time when the sun shines, the air is mild and the wind
is less then hyper. How we spend such days is interesting, perhaps more to the point,
how we celebrate them is significant.
On Thursday afternoon I saw this lady using the late afternoon sun and warm air to
go for a jog. I saw her a block earlier and made a loop around so I could get a
picture of her in the open and not wanting to intrude in her celebration I clicked
the picture well before she was in appropriate range, but without seeing the expression
on her face, or seeing that she has her Walkman on and head phones in place, we can
see from her movement, that she has decided to make the best of one of the few days
of the year when the elements are in harmony. |
Summer is when those construction and reconstruction projects can be carried out
easily. Contractors are busy throughout the town replacing broken curbs and in this
case near McKay Tower they are doing both the curb and the sidewalk in an area that
has a lot of pedestrian traffic all year round. As a casual observer of street paving,
sewer and water line excavation and sidewalk and curb renewal, there seems to be
a direct relationship between workers and supervisors that only an engineer could
quantify with his or her own special brand of math. In this picture, taken at the
end of the working day, we see four people associated with the project, three supervising,
one guy working. I have counted up to five to one on some locations. Perhaps its
the weather, perhaps its just the way things are, who knows, but do some counting
yourself the next time you encounter a project and it will surprise you.
On our way home from Winnipeg earlier this month we came across a Manitoba highway
resurfacing crew. I counted fifteen people in the group with various machines and
there were two flag men at work and two others doing something while the rest were
engaged in activities similar to those above. Perhaps there is a lesson in all this,
that humans by there nature, can not resist their need to communicate with one another
and work and projects, are just another excuse for them to congregate. |
