Just Part of the Job

[wdfifteen]

As part of what I do I get to connect with our readers by writing stories about shared experiences. Has anyone experienced any of this?

When I was a kid I had mixed feelings about gravel roads.
The thing about our gravel roads was, as trucks braked to slow down they created a washboard surface at the approach to every corner and stop sign. There were a lot of these roads on our school bus route. The usual cacophony of chattering children in the bus turned to silent dread when our driver turned off of the pavement onto a gravel road. Our bus driver was a stickler for keeping to his schedule and drove with no consideration for our comfort at all. We kids grabbed our books and hung onto our seats for dear life when we saw a corner coming up. He attacked the washboards like they owed him money, subjecting us kids to a tooth rattling, bone-jarring ride. We bounced around on our seats before he braked hard for the corners, then braced ourselves to keep from slamming into the seat in front of us. Of course the dust plume that always followed the bus caught up with us and curled in through the windows, leaving us coughing and choking and trying to hang on through the corner. The township smoothed the road regularly with an old Allis-Chalmers maintainer but to our bus driver’s delight it quickly degraded back into a washboard surface as trucks braked to slow down.

On the other hand, the lane from the state highway to our house was gravel, and it often brought good things. We didn’t get many visitors, so the sound of tires on gravel signaled some possible excitement in our mundane lives. Whenever we heard the familiar crunching sound we ran out to see who it was. Maybe the mailman had a package that he couldn’t fit into the mailbox, or perhaps a salesman with free samples had arrived. Even though we ran a dairy farm a milk delivery man came by in his truck now and then selling ice cream. He would give us half pints of chocolate milk and chips of salty ice from the ice bin. Often it meant a visit from a friend or relative. It was a real treat when grandpa came to visit.

My more recent experiences with gravel roads were also mixed.

A few years ago I was in Iowa doing a story on a tractor. The tractor owner’s directions to his place were, “… head out of town on the hard road and take a right at the Rock Road.” I drove along checking the road signs and got clear to the next town without finding it. In frustration I asked the waitress at a cafe where Rock Road was.
“Heck, half the roads out here are rock,” she replied.
That’s when it dawned on me. I had quickly figured out that what we in Ohio call a paved road is called a “hard road” out there, but I completely missed the fact that their “rock road” is what we call a “gravel road.” I finally made it to my destination, and felt a little sheepish explaining to the tractor owner why I was late.

There hadn’t been a gravel road in my county in 30 years until this September. The township repaved the road in front of our house a few weeks ago using the chip seal method. One afternoon they spread tar on the old road and covered it with pea-sized gravel. I awoke the next morning to the long-forgotten sound of tires on gravel and recalled that old feeling of excitement. For years I had pretty much ignored traffic on the road, but now that it was gravel I looked out the window every time I heard the sound of a car. After a few weeks they sprayed a tar top coat on the gravel, so the road is silent again. And you know, I kind of miss the sound.

[SamC.]

Believe it or don't, I completely understand. I never met a dirt road that I didn't like.

[strupgolf]

When I lived in Nebraska every country road was graval, still are. Back here in Indiana all the county roads are paved. Last year on a visit I was thinking how would you ever keep a car clean, you could'nt do it. I don't miss them at all.

[porsche4life]

My county had mostly paved roads, but my parents driveway is still gravel. I know exactly what you mean about the sound. Hear that sound and go look out the window. If my parents ever pave the driveway, they'll have to install a driveway alarm of some sort....

[stomachmonkey]

I miss the sound of a single car passing by on cobble stone in the middle of the night.

[look 171]

Out here in socal, I have no idea what you are talking about. in the middle of nowhere, there might be 25' of gravel or dirt driveway, and that's a lot. When I was a kid, we would look for dirt roads to drive on so we can kick up dust with our little pick up trucks. When it rained, its even more fun. We were learning how to be red necks playing in the mud. Gravel or dirt roads seem to be a singe of relief to me. More back to nature and calming compared to what we have out here in bumper to bumper land.

[pete3799]

The town I live in has 62 miles of town roads....... 12 miles of them are paved.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

We lived on a dirt road growing up, couldn't see your nearest neighbor. Different sound than gravel. Good memories of it.

[tabs]

What is a dirt or gravel road?

[Oh Haha]

I cannot stand dirt/gravel roads. We passed on a few houses because they were either on dirt roads or the road wasn't fully paved.

Yesterday I stopped at a junkyard to get a small part for my truck. Their parking lot is sand/gravel/dirt. When I got home my tires had this weird dirt ring on the sides. I HAD to clean them ASAP.

My in-laws have a dirt driveway with lots of ruts. Drives me insane to go thre, especially after a rain. Huge muddy frikkin' puddles...



Yeah, I know. I have some serious issues.

[black73]