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July 20, 2010 10:39 AM

Essayist offers a way out of road construction

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Have you noticed the traffic cones? The bottlenecks? All the detours? It's highway repair season in Minnesota. And this year, the repairs seem to be going on everywhere. But essayist Peter Smith says there's a way around all the construction, and it just a few keystrokes away.

Smith: Well congratulations, MinnDOT. You've finally done it. You've boxed me and my neighbors for miles around in completely. None of us can go anywhere in any direction without going through a construction zone. It's a remarkable accomplishment. It really is.

We are the most affluent society in history. Even in the middle of this economic downturn. We own automobiles that can carry us coast to coast in air conditioned comfort, listening to news, information, talk and music. Mile after carefree mile-on cruise control.

If we could just find a stretch of open road where we could set the cruise control. Sadly, no. You, MinnDOT have us-all of us-boxed in.

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But you can't box in my computer, can you? And youtube is... full... of... old... car... commercials like this:

Music: Dinah Shore singing: "See the USA in your Chevrolet."

Smith: There you go, MinnDOT. Repair that. Yessir. Look at those people...

Out there on the open road,...

Joy radiating from their simple faces.

Convertibles...

Two-doors...

Four doors...

Station wagons...

Farm country...

Out west...

And not a traffic cone or a MinnDOT crew in sight.

Sure, I'm watching this from my home office. Sure you've got us all boxed in...

But you can't box in that good old American open road spirit.. No matter how many construction zones, no matter how many bottle necks.

So go ahead. Do your darndest, MinnDOT. Just let me know when your finished. Until then, I'll be right here at the computer, on the great American open road.