closed street

Kristyn and I live on a corner lot in semi-downtown Waco. Tuesday morning we awoke to a large crater in the street to the right of our house. As you might suspect the water main burst. The city accordingly closed the block that was affected.

It just so happens that the street that needed to be closed is subject to a lot of through traffic day and night. After the water main was fixed the city has left the road closed and has elected to make a throughway for people who live directly on the affected street, a total of three homes. With the opening for these citizens the city has created a s-turn with cones blocking off the two entrances and guarding the unfinished street repair.

This morning as I sat on our front porch watching the black birds enjoy the due filled grass, I noticed the how different cars approached the closed street. Some saw the sign and cones and elected to take a detour. Others slowed down enough to observe the sign, look around to see who's watching, then proceed to enter the closed block to emerge free on the other side of the s-turn. Lastly, there is a group of drives that observed the sign and cones enough to swing their vehicle around the apparent obstacle course. All three types of people saw the warning signs; some changed direction, some drove slowly though hoping not to get caught, while others drove though with no regard to the closer or danger.

What does this say about life? Do we observe warning signs? Can we even see the warning signs? Are we so focused on getting to where we wish to be that the signs are but a blur as we curve around the obstacle?