Here's a riddle for you: I was flat and smooth in my youth, butin age I am cracked and broken, wildly distorted from the shapethat best serves my function. People trample all over me, day andnight. I am here for them always, but they neglect me, leaving meto crumble and fade.
Without me, no one would get anywhere. Truly, I support a greatweight of the people on my shoulders. I have my ups and downs, butmostly there is a constant hole in my life, many holes in fact,like something's missing. Sometimes, someone will come along andfind one of those holes, bumping and crashing through life with me.But it never lasts long. The person will just drive away as fast aspossible, cursing the day they met me.
What am I?
A typical road in Muncie.
Drive down almost any road on campus, and you'll be likely tofind those holes without too much of a problem. Drive for anylength of time, at any speed greater than a casual walk, and itbegins to feel much like one of those car rides for kids in thegrocery store--only on a much larger scale.
And sometimes, on a particularly good day, you may find one ofthose spots in the road that turns your car into a mechanical bulltrying to throw you out the window. One can only imagine thestriking realism of this analogy when applied to the manymotorcycles roaming the campus streets.
Not to mention The Happy Friday Guy zooming along on hisscooter. (Who would bring us tidings of Friday joy should he fallvictim to the roads of Muncie?)
For far too long, this issue has been ignored. The streets inthe area are in horrible shape, and their condition is rapidlydeclining. Before too long, if you happen to put your ear to one ofthe many craters in formation and listen carefully, you just mayhear the faint sounds of children playing...in China.
Some have talked of the need for a new Student Center, but thatneed pales in comparison to a greater one. What we need now arenewly paved roads on and around our campus. One is a luxury, theother a necessity. The Student Center is in tact; the roads arenot.
Let's not wait until they're no longer usable to start thinkingabout taking action. Now is the time to fix the problem.
But, of course, Ball State will not act for some time. It'sinevitable. Set the obvious problem on the back burner and turn toluxury. That's what we're good at.
In the mean time, there is an upside to the current condition ofthe streets, something we can all enjoy, given the right attitude.Yes, a new pastime for the college kids and Muncie residents alikehas been born. Call it a sport, call it a hobby, or call it justplain fun, but the fact is, you can't escape it:
On-road-off-roading.
Here's what you do. Pile your friends, pets, and/or groceries inyour car, take off with a screech of your tires, skidding slightly,and head for the Muncie roads, driving until all contents are mixedthoroughly. And then, you might want to look into getting a newsuspension.
Write to Nick atnick_davidson02@yahoo.com
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