Letter to the editor: Driveway dilemma
To the Editor:
Mark Twain said, "A man who does not read good books is no better off than a man who can not read them." I just found out that the same can be said of reading good newspapers.
Last Tuesday, I was a bit surprised to learn that I do not need the driveway to the front service bay of my business. I must not need it because when I called the mayor to ask about it, she said, "We didn't think you used it any more. Didn't anyone tell you? I thought someone was going to tell you. This is just poor communication."
I thought to myself, "Is that what this is? Huh. It's a good thing she said something, or I would have thought it was something else."
My surprise increased a few hours later when I discovered that the hundred or so feet of curbless driveway across the street from me was also slated to become diagonal public parking. More poor communication I suppose. Lowell Foth, who has operated an automotive repair shop at that location for a good many years, had not been informed that he should look for another line of work. Maybe he could open a pet shop or a fingernail salon there. Maybe he should go into real estate. Nobody really wants or needs a centrally located, small, independent automotive garage anyway. Places like that are a not-so-cuddly endangered species. Wouldn't we all be better off if they would just hurry up and go extinct? Who would miss them? But I digress.
On Friday, my surprise turned to self-effacement when an editor informed me that I had been told. Some six months ago, briefly and near the end of a long city council report, at least one paper reported the casual edict that there would be no curb cuts on Main Street.
It's a good thing this grant Hillsboro got wasn't a hundred feet larger. Then the fellows at Ford would be curbed in too. I don't think they would have liked that very much.
I am so grossly under-read. It seems that bedtime stories, a little fiction and a quick glance at the paper is simply inadequate these days. For example, I should really check out some law books because I so completely misunderstood the concept of a "Grandfather Clause" that I thought it might apply to a driveway that I, my father and my grandfather have used regularly since 1919. But I digress.
Upon reflection, I understand the logic. These driveways are of limited value. They serve only the businesses that they are directly in front of. It is so hard to find anywhere to park in this town. In light of that fact, it is awfully undemocratic of Lowell and I to hog up all that prime parking.
Furthermore, the new complexion of our downtown is to be accented by an essential strip of decorative brick and some nostalgic lamp posts that hark back to a less frantic and more congenial time. According to the project inspector from the engineering firm, these bricks (which are to be supported only by six inches of compacted sand ) simply won't stand up to anything heavier than foot traffic. Driveways are simply out of the question. Or they would complicate the question. I would hate to be a complication. It makes me wonder how they will stand up to a two-wheel cart loaded with a refrigerator. I also wonder what would happen if someone decided to use a tractor and blade (or, heaven forbid, a front loader) to remove snow some winter. But I digress.
Regardless of how my little driveway issue resolves itself, I feel very thankful for this experience. It has been quite enlightening. It is reassuring to know that the administrators of this city know what each business needs. Simply amazing. They know these things without asking.
This event has also thoroughly informed me of how woefully ignorant I really am about what the future holds for this community. I was forced to look up the definitions of "improvement" and "progress." I must admit that I still have a little confusion there. This trivial event has also given me an interesting perspective on my apparent position in the local political/economic food chain.
Most of all I feel fortunate to have learned that in Hillsboro, America it pays to keep up on your reading. You can't just look at the pictures. You can't just skim. You've got to read the whole story. I subscribe to both papers. I should do my civic duty and read them thoroughly.
Todd Jost
owner, Jost Welding
