Yesterday during rush hour a bridge collapsed in Minnesota. It was the 35W that crosses the Mississippi river and it has been all over the news since last night when it collapsed during rush hour. It also happens to be the bridge, that as my mom so quickly reminded me, where I learned how to spell Mississippi. The bridge goes through downtown Minneapolis and is the main path to St. Paul. As a kid we took that bridge a lot and even though I have not lived in Minnesota in over 20 years now I was horrified when I started hearing about this bridges collapse. As of now there are 7 dead and searching the river continues as I type this. I called my mom of course to make sure all of our family was ok and thankfully they are. Most of my family members live and work in Minneapolis and do not use 35W regularly. My thoughts go out to the people of Minnesota and the families of those who were on the bridge. For as long as I have been away and as little time as I spend there now Minnesota still holds a very powerful place in my life.
To this day when people ask me where I am from (no one is actually from DC) I usually answer with Minnesota. I do follow up the Minnesota comment with a story about Florida as most of my life was spent in Florida. Still, when I go to family things outside of my immediate family, it is always Minnesota where I go. That is where we celebrated 40 years of liberation (it has been over 50 now), where my cousins weddings were held and where my grandparents are buried. It is where I will be in 8 days, seeing my mom and sisters for the first time in 5 months and many of my other family members for the first time in almost a year. So, while I was lamenting the poor state of my favorite sports teams from the Twin Cities over the past couple of days this bridge collapse reminded me that there is so much more to worry about than whether or not your favorite team can afford to keep the star player. I was sad to see two former Minnesota stars hugging in Boston last night but it has been much worse knowing that for the next few years as I go to visit there will be a looming reminder of the tragedy that occurred last night.
