A Day in the Life

Well, it’s that time of the year again – time for more potholes embedded in our mountaintop roads and highways. Have you noticed all the potholes that have popped up lately? Actually, it’s more like they have popped down. The recent series of seemingly unending rain and snowstorms have gifted us with a fresh crop of… you guessed it…potholes. These bumpy, bone-jarring, wheel-bending, tire-flattening, axle-busting, accident-causing menaces must be dealt with quickly; otherwise, all those grotesque aberrations I just mentioned will just keep on happening. Have you read the news today?

“I read the news today, oh, boy. Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. And though the holes were rather small, they had to count them all. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.” (“A Day in The Life” – The Beatles – 1967 – from the classic Sgt. Pepper album) Several of these menacing holes have popped down recently on Highway 138, between Knapp’s Cutoff and Waters Drive. While they are not as ominous as last winter’s crop of potholes, they are bound to pop ever downward as the rain and snowy season progresses. Other holes can be found on Lake Drive in the vicinity of Knapp’s Cutoff and downward toward the Shell station.

Have you noticed them? That’s what I thought – so did my car. Not only can these holes cause serious damage to your vehicle, they can also result in serious injury or, even worse, a visit from the Grim Reaper when your car is thrown off its course after falling into a hole, suddenly slamming into a tree, another vehicle, a pedestrian or goes flying over the side of the mountain. Well, you get the picture.

By the way, according to the CHP, it’s illegal to swerve over the painted centerline on any California road or highway, even to avoid a pothole. It’s a citable offense, not to mention that you are liable if you cause an accident or injury by doing so, not mention that it could prove deadly for a motorcyclist. So please don’t do that. It’s better to swerve to the right of the pothole or any other obstruction in the roadway, as long as it’s safe to do so.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any county or Caltrans pothole people around these parts so far this winter. Perhaps some of you good citizens out there in Potholeland could call and remind them of their civic duty. And, speaking of Caltrans, I must commend them for finally fixing the ugly potholes along the last two miles of Highway 18.

“I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in and stops my mind from wandering, where it will go? I’m filling the cracks that ran through the door and kept my mind from wandering. And it really doesn’t matter if I’m wrong, I’m right where I belong.” (“Fixing A Hole – The Beatles – again from their colossal Sgt. Pepper album)

Keep it flyin’ Uncle Mott