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LAST MINUTE MUSINGS: Didn’t know I had the power
You probably remember the Volkswagen Passat Darth Vader commercial from the Super Bowl about 10 years ago.
With the foreboding tones of “The Imperial March” playing, a pint-sized Sith lord marches around the house, trying in vain to use The Force to move something. He tries and fails to get any reaction out of an elliptical machine, the yellow lab lounging in the living room, the washer and dryer, a green-eyed baby doll and a lunchmeat sandwich.
Then Dad comes home and gets out of his German sedan. Young Skywalker runs right past him and turns his attention to the car. Concentrating more intently than before, he hold his hands out toward the car’s grille, only to nearly jump out of his costume when the parking lights come on and the engine fires.
Cut to the kitchen, where Dad is pressing the remote start on his key fob and flashing a knowing a grin at Mom.
Well, for a minute or two on Wednesday afternoon, I thought I either had some previously untapped Force sensitivity or someone was messing with me from a nearby window.
I know the press can wield a fair amount of power, but getting a state agency to respond quickly? I don’t have that kind of power.
In the midst of an uncharacteristically productive morning, I received a call with a familiar voice on the other end.
It was Cathy Arnold, who was formerly my favorite nurse whenever I visited the doctor’s office.
But she’s moved on from that work, and this call wasn’t about my cholesterol.
Instead, Cathy was inquiring about the status of the State Road 42 bridge over Mill Creek in the southeastern part of the county. Husband Mike, she explained, farms in the area. The last six months — and particularly harvest season — has been none-too-pleasant driving large farm machinery on narrow county roads and bridges.
After chatting a bit, I told Cathy I’d check with my Indiana Department of Transportation media contact in Crawfordsville and get back to her.
Megan at INDOT was prompt in her initial response, saying she’d reach out to the team and find out the estimated opening day.
Moving on with my day, I sort of forgot about the whole thing … that was until a little before 3 p.m. when Brand said from across the newsroom, “The bridge is reopened.” I quickly went to my email, but had no further responses or press releases.
It turns out, the bridge had actually reopened on Wednesday, and INDOT had posted it on Facebook.
When I called Cathy back, she had already heard it from her sister-in-law, but told me, “Jared, you’re going to be my go-to guy now. All you had to do was ask.”
I told her not to expect such things too often, but maybe we were just lucky this time.
Or were we?
“How about the power of the press?” I thought. “All I had to do was ask the question, and suddenly the bridge was reopened.”
The pen is mightier than the sword, after all. Or as Ben Franklin said, and Cloverdale Principal Sonny Stoltz once paraphrased to me, “Don’t get in an argument with a man who buys ink by the barrel.”
Then again, I’ve rarely been one to use my pen like a sword. Just not my style.
And for the sake of safety, I hope INDOT has better reasons to open a bridge than one measly question from me.
Then I had another thought: What if INDOT was supposed to open the bridge a week or two ago and someone just forgot? Then my email came in and someone said, “Oh crap! Send a truck out there and take down the barricades.”
As amusing as this mental picture may be, again, I tend to believe INDOT and its contractors operate in a slightly more organized fashion than this.
At least I hope.
Besides, I’m selfish. If I really wield that kind of power over INDOT, I wouldn’t worry about 42. (Sorry, Cloverdale friends.) Instead, U.S. 231 in Greencastle would’ve been fixed years ago.
Even better, I’d really abuse my power and get my driveway blacktopped.
But I don’t have that kind of power to abuse, and I am happy for the Arnolds and anyone else who uses 42 frequently.
It’s all water under the bridge at this point.