Under Construction

BNSF classification yards - Galesburg.

It was hot today. Well, I should say it is hot today. It was already hot when I ran at 8. Don't know what the humidity is, but it's up there. I was so eager to run that I didn't remember to take a bag. That's OK, I only saw a couple of cans and nothing else worth picking up anyway.

I did come across construction. First there was the Habitat for Humanity group circled up for prayer and instruction near a hole in the ground where they'll build their next Knox County house. It sits at the foot of the W.C. Jackson Bridge (also known as the Fourth Street Bridge, even though it starts on Third Street on the west side; never heard it called the Third Street Bridge, not even from folks on the west side).

Knox County Habitat for Humanity - a great group.

Next came the road blockage on South Chambers Street. There was a backhoe sitting idle by a hole in the middle of the street and a lone woman in a truck on the north side. The sexist remark would be that she was waiting for the men to arrive to do the work. But I'm not a sexist, so forget you read that. I'm sure she was waiting for the lazy guys who got up late or had to finish their coffee and doughnuts back at the garage before heading to the work site, where they'll promptly stand around for a bit or sit in their air-conditioned trucks until just before lunch time. Then they'll set up for the real work, go to lunch, and get started after that.

OK, to all my friends in construction and contracting and similar lines of work, I am kidding. Everybody slacks a little sometimes. It's just funny when you see somebody at a work site doing nothing. Now roofers are another story. I rarely see those guys take a break. They're up there in the air, shirtless and ultra-tan, sweating like Secretariat, scraping, hammering, doing what they do. Keep hydrated, fellas.

The last leg of Chambers presented the beautiful mural on the south wall of Discovery Depot children's museum. It is a nice welcome to Amtrak passengers and anyone else passing through that neighborhood who lingers long enough to take a gander. If you haven't done so, make it a point.

Today's Stats
Temp: 81 degrees F
Distance: 3.2 miles
Treasure: Nada.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Norwegian Wood (Anthology version) - The Beatles
Back Together Again - Hall & Oates
(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don't Want to be Right - The Faces
Teddy Boy (Anthology) - The Beatles
Polythene Pam (Anthology) - The Beatles
Why Don't We Get Drunk - Jimmy Buffett
Let's Dance - David Bowie
The Grove of Eglantine - Styx
Tender is the Night - Jackson Browne
For Shame of Doing Wrong - Syd Straw and Evan Dando