Covered Bridges

Today was my third trip to Vermont in as many weeks.  It's only a four-hour drive to the town where Jenna will be living, so today we drove both vehicles up there, loaded with about half of Jenna's "stuff."  After unloading both cars, we went off in search of a new couch and some used furniture.

Windham County is home to a few covered bridges.  And nothing says Vermont like a covered bridge.  In our search for used furniture shops, we crossed two of those bridges repeatedly.  On our way to Jenna's town, we cross the Williamsville Bridge which runs along the Rock River.  It was built around 1870.

As you can see, the bridge appears after a sharp curve in the road.  (More about that later.)

Also in Windham County is the West Dummerston covered bridge.  This one was built in 1872.  It's a bit longer than the Williamsville Bridge.

There's one more covered bridge that was in our vicinity, but it's a private bridge. 

 

I think you can see why the owners wouldn't want a lot of leaf-peepers crossing their covered bridge.

So why am I in love with covered bridges?  You might think it's because of their idyllic beauty.  You might think it's because of their pedestrian and practical purpose.  (You might even think that it's because of the way they lend themselves to alliteration.)   It's all of that, of course, but there's something else.

When you approach a covered bridge in Vermont, you have to stop.  And wait.  If another car is already in the bridge, you continue to wait until it has completed its crossing.  If the way is clear, you get to go.  Seriously, there's no way around this.  Think about it.  Two cars approach the bridge from different directions at the same time.  Both proceed into the bridge.  What happens when they meet in the middle?  Do they get out of their vehicles and duke it out for right-of-way?  Or does one vehicle gracefully back out?  

It should never come to this.  You have to stop.  And wait.  Repeat:  Stop.  And wait.

Imagine if this way of doing things applied elsewhere.  Imagine if we all stopped and waited before we proceeded in whatever the hell we think is so important.  Would there be fewer wars?  Fewer divorces?  Fewer unwanted children?  Would there be better use of our hard-earned dollars?  Better use of our state and federal taxes?  Better outcomes in education, career, and life choices?

Stop.  And wait.  The covered bridge has it down.