SERVING HENDRICKS COUNTY SINCE 1847
The Republican
Page A-6
Voices
Thursday, March 4, 2021
ASK MR. TRAFFIC
Exploring Hendricks County
By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com
By Jackie Horn
“Now Is The Winter of Our Discontent” Every year about now, I hate winter. I’m tired of the cold. I’m sick of the gloomy, dismal, gray days. I’m ready for Spring. When I was a kid, I loved winter! What happened? What changed? A few years ago I figured it out. When we were young, we PLAYED in winter. We were outside just as much in January as in July. Kids went skating, sledding, and built snowmen. Even if there wasn’t snow, we still were outside on the playground or running with friends in the neighborhood. As adults, we shovel snow, scrape ice off windshields, and dig cars out of drifts. Heavy coats are required and shoes get wet. We don’t stride confidently; we trudge or walk like penguins. Snow, ice, and cold are work, not fun. I decided if I was going to continue living in Indiana, I had to make peace with winter. I had to find joy in the season. I had to make winter fun again. I wanted to see something besides dirty snow piles beside the road. I wanted to find beauty. I needed to hear birds. I dressed for the cold, pulled on boots, and hit a nature park. I felt better. I could survive until March...or April...until spring finally arrived. These days I hike in winter. I’m back to sledding. (I tried ice skating but that ended with a wrenched knee and a brace for six weeks.) Being new to Hendricks County, I needed to find places to go for winter fun.
With the snow a couple of weeks ago, the sledding hill at Hummel Park was quite popular. Fun-seekers slid down on traditional sleds, snowboards, saucer sleds, and even a fullsized air mattress! Some brave and inventive souls challenged the hill, rather unsuccessfully, with plastic storage totes, a canoe, and a kiddie swimming pool. It was very cold but the sun was shining. I didn’t see anyone NOT smiling. Saturday was bright and sunny and the temperature hit 40
A Bark From the Past: Henry
[Editor’s Note: The Republican’s first four-footed correspondent was Henry, a mixed breed rescue dog, who made observations about small town life from a dog’s point of view. Hot-diggety-dog! Spring has sprung! It’s getting warmer and things are starting to green up! Some hyacinths are just peeking through the mulch in the beds and a big bunch of crocuses are in full bloom now. They are so neat! It almost makes me wish I could see color! I just love the spring! It’s like things are coming back to life after their seasonal naps. It’s a fresh start! Woof! My human was in the yard a while ago, scattering some lime (ground up rock, not the green fruit) where my doggy family and I like to use the bathroom in the winter. He says it will sweeten the soil. I think that what’s there already will sweeten it pretty well! There have been more humans walking their own dogs past the yard, so I’ve had a chance to speak to some of my friends that I haven’t seen for a while. Everybody is ready for spring! We all agree that this winter was the pits! It was too overcast most of the time. And the snows were kind of sparse and didn’t last too long, not like they used to when
degrees. John, our granddaughter (Ally) and I hiked McCloud Nature Park near North Salem. We made a loop of the Paw Paw, Acorn, Sycamore, Small Mouth, Red Tail, Big Walnut Crossing, Fox, and Coyote trails, roughly two miles. The snow was still relatively fresh and DEEP. It made for a good workout. If you haven’t walked McCloud, the terrain includes steep hills and ravines, flat prairie, creeks and riverbanks as well as developed paths. We met very few people on the trail but could see cross country ski and snowshoe mixed in with deer, squirrel, and raccoon tracks. We saw and heard cardinals, titmice, woodpeckers, and finches. All in all, it was a great time. I’d like to try cross country skiing...or snowshoeing. I need to do a little more research, maybe find a place to try out the equipment before committing to the expense. Winter is fun, or at least not as awful, again! NOTE: There’s a name for what so many of us suffer this
time of year: SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression. It’s a real thing! Using a lightbox and taking Vitamin D supplements can help by simulating the benefits of sunlight, but nothing beats the real thing: getting outside. If it’s sunny, turn off the video games and take the kids to the park. Take a walk or bike ride. Feel the sun on your face. For a severe case, please seek medical assistance. Help is available through counseling and medication.
I was a pup! If it’s gonna snow, it oughta SNOW! Not this “melts as it hits the yard” snow, but a real crisp, deep, scrunch-under-your-feet snow! We didn’t get any of that this year! My human has been saying that he wants to hit the lynx. I can’t imagine him hitting any animal, and I haven’t ever seen a lynx around here. I asked my housemate, Walter the cat, if there were any lynxes in Danville, and he said there may have been a few bobcats, but no lynxes. My human tends to say funny things sometimes, so maybe it doesn’t mean really hitting a lynx, like hitting the sack isn’t really hitting a sack. Oh, well. I know he wants to play golf, too, and I’d rather see him do that than hit the lynx. Although, I have watched him on the golf course, and I can’t figure out why he enjoys it so much. He just seems to struggle to hit that little ball with those bent sticks, and it seems to me that there have got to be easier ways to get the ball into the hole. Kick it in maybe, or just go up and drop it in. Or better yet, just dig a hole where the ball lands. Oh, well, I guess we all have our own ideas about what’s fun! I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to being outside more! Fresh air and lying in the sunshine! What could be better than that? Except maybe, lying in the sunshine with Sunshine. Sigh. Thought for the Day: The days are getting longer now, so don’t waste a minute. You don’t have all that many minutes to begin with.
We offer Voices as a place to share a story, a memory, an idea, a comment, a criticism, or a solution. Contributors must include name, address & phone number. We look forward to hearing your voice.
The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things — not merely industrious, but to love industry — not merely learned, but to love knowledge — not merely pure, but to love purity — not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice. John Ruskin
Because We’ve Always Done It That Way A Dangerous Phrase — Sometimes Today’s topic is something I have researched for several years (actually, I started yesterday, but, I plan to continue my research for many years — several years). There is an interesting theory about the wheel spacing of a Roman chariot and its impact on today’s railroad rail spacing (TRRRS). The spacing of today’s railroad rails is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. This seems like a random dimension, right? But think about it, what else pops in your head when you hear 4 feet, 8.5 inches? Write the (obvious) answer here: ___________________. The story goes something like this: That particular spacing was adopted because that’s what was used in England. But why did the English use that spacing? Well, because the people who built the English railroads used the same spacing as the people who built the English tramways who in turn, reused the tools and jigs from building horse-drawn wagons. But why did wagons have that particular wheel spacing? Because that was the spacing of the wheel ruts. And these wheel ruts were the result of Roman chariots. And if you were a smart waggoneer, you would construct your wheel spacing to match these existing ruts and avoid risk of wheel damage. And finally, what was the reason for that particular wheel spacing on chariots? What did you write down in the blank line above? Yep, 4 feet, 8.5 inches is the exact width necessary to accommodate the back end of two horses. And that’s not all, an interesting reverse-extension of this story is that because this dimension impacts cargo width of all things transported by rail, the design of the space shuttle’s booster rockets was therefore affected. The boosters, built in Utah, were transported (by rail) to the launch site. Think about it — the design of the space shuttle’s booster rockets was perhaps impacted by the width of the back end of two horses. So, is this true or coincidental? I tried to obtain confirmation by contacting the National Historical Society and asked to speak to Diomedes (one of the few chariot driver names I could recall from the stories my uncle would tell me). The curator claimed Diomedes was “unavailable” and even went so far as to say he was likely “no longer with us.” I received the same answer when I asked for Antilochus. I chuckled to myself, having used the same excuse when receiving calls from people I borrow money from. In any case, let’s agree there is some truth here (like the part about average horse width — measuring horses was, in fact, my Uncle’s occupation — another good reason to stay in school). ______________________________________________
A Squirrel About Town By Archy “Everyone’s a cynic,” Archy said. I wondered if he meant to say “critic” but was quickly corrected. “It amuses me that so many humans aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about,” he continued. “They relish in perceiving that they’ve been wronged by society. That attitude must be exhausting, don’t you think?” I had to agree, but tried to defend humanity at the same time. “Still, there are many of us who try to take a more optimistic view,” I said. The squirrel chuckled. “Pessimists and Pollyannas!” he said. “It’s a wonder you make any progress at all.” I asked whether squirrels had similar attitudes. “We’re raised to be rational,” Archy patiently explained. “We put a little distance between what we see and what we believe. Leave some room for discernment.” That seemed a good practice, but I wondered if humans could adapt to it. “When you encounter a cynic, you need to show them there’s another path. They might not follow it the first time, but with more exposure, they might try it just to see where it leads. After all,” he said, “you can lead a human to reason, but you can’t make them think.”
