Every day Missourians roll across America’s first stimulus project from the recession recovery act, the new Osage River bridge on Highway 17 near Tuscumbia.
Projects like this create a unique problem for me. The dang highway department keeps making new roads. My car has 307,000 miles on her odometer, and she groans when I tell her we have work to do. Still, she accepts the challenge. She’s the only car in America that has driven every mile of these roads, and she’s not about to stop now. Her motor races at the prospect of carrying me on this majestic span across the lifeblood of the Osage people.
When it comes to driving the back roads of this great state, whether the pavement is crumbling or brand new, I always remember what my grandpappy told me. He said, “Son, get outta my way!”