You ain't goin' nowhere

The McPhaul Bridge, just outside Yuma AZ, was built over the Gila River in 1929 and served traffic on US-95 until it was deemed inadequate in 1968. It was retired and both the highway and river were rerouted. No one wanted to spend the money to tear it down, so it sits there, barricaded at both ends, vegetable fields at one end, firing ranges at the other. Now it’s called the Bridge to Nowhere. And signs warn it’s unstable.

There’s a metaphor for life in that story. You’re born, there’s a celebration, an honorable name is given, everyone has great hopes for you, you work hard for forty years and then, “Eh, we don’t need you anymore.” The world moves on and leaves you there. And whispers that you’re unstable. And maybe infested with bees.