County Commission | The Magazine December 2018 | Page 7

based products rob our counties
We’ve gotten our first job,
We’ve
let
the
rising
price
of any real opportunity to make
and we’ve cried at the funeral of
meaningful improvements in the
our friend. We’ve bought our first
of road construction and
roads and bridges that support
house, and we’ve left our lunch
petroleum-based products
agriculture and the timber
money at home by mistake. We’ve
industry.
ridden our go-cart with our Papa,
rob our counties of any real
In the meantime, we’ve
opportunity to make meaningful laughed at the fair with our best
welcomed a new sister into
girl and remained the apple of our
improvements in the roads and mother’s eye.
our lives and we’ve had to say
“goodbye” to Granny and
We’ve done all of those things
bridges that support agriculture
Granddaddy. We’ve played the
— and more.
and the timber industry.
role of President Roosevelt on the
But despite all of our focused
stage, and we’ve gotten sweaty —
efforts and energy, we’ve still not
and very tired — on the wrestling
found a way to enact new revenue
— those projects have only helped us
mat. We’ve played the drums and the keep our heads afloat.
to make our roads and bridges safer
guitar, and we’ve wrecked our new
for the little boys who will be born to
In the meantime, we’ve been
car — twice — without getting hurt! to Boston and to Miami. We’ve
new parents in the summer of 2019.
But all the while, we’ve searched
We’ve waited and we’ve waited
watched the Tide capture a bunch
for innovative solutions to our
and we’ve waited.
of championships and give a couple
problems. And even when we found
We’ve waited so long that the
away. We’ve sat in bleachers at
a couple — convincing the public to
little
boy who came into our lives in
Wrigley Field and on the ground at
support a $250 million bond issue for Amen Corner. We’ve worn a crimson 1991 is now about to be 28 years old.
bridges in 2000 and the innovative
cap and gown, and we’ve watched our And maybe, just maybe, in 2019, we
ATRIP program earlier this decade
will have finally waited long enough. n
sister do the same.
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