Still unfinished...

Archive post November 14, 2019…

I had thought that when I came back home to Codiponte from two weeks in the hospital and rehab after my left hip op, the work on the Medieval bridge would be way, way finished. Nope.

What continues to disturb…

the large blue and black corrugated plastic tubes sprouting like an art project or, a visual social commentary at the junction of two low walls which will be part of the scenic overlook adjacent to the Medieval bridge’s parking area. A new light pole has been erected to carry the electrical cables strung across the Aulella River to the central part of the Codiponte. The old pylon will be eventually be dismantled and carried off. We hope. Right now it looks like a forlorn relic. And, nothing has been accomplished to resolve the dangerous part of the bridge’s pavement. There have been accidents, sudden falls, scrapes, etc. Apparently, the Madonnina can do nothing to help. He hands are tied holding the Baby Jesus? In thanks for the new coat of stucco inside & out of Her niche and the new set of steps up to lay flowers or, place one of those Brico Centre red votive candles. One is a fake and instead, has a battery to keep the light going 24/7, its flicker an unconscious warning, perhaps?

Takes me a good 10+ minutes to cross the bridge on crutches. Morning & afternoon exercises. Would be bad enough on two legs, but with four, well, it’s a very slow & perilous go. The upside of this journey is I meet other villagers attempting the crossing too. A slow go for them. We meet and suddenly, we have a quorum to complain and belly-ache about the idiocy of carrying the bridge to this deplorable state, i.e. the appallingly iffy pavement and the roller-coaster arches doubling one’s efforts to be safe. After venting, someone shares news of the more recent disgrazie of some unfortunate citizen’s encounter with the Medieval bridge.

I have since run into other gossip circulating Codiponte that the Culture Police… La Sopra-intendenza dei Beni Culturali… insisted upon rigorously respecting the Medieval aspects in the bridge’s reconstruction barring any concession to modern conveniences… ape-scooters, baby carriages, grocery strollers… or, needs of the local populace. The median age here is over 50 years of age. And I know most folk over the age of 70 use canes. More instability than two crutches. Yet, there’s a nice number of kids under the age of 7 years, which should have been factored in. Nope.

My late-breaking impression is the majority of Codipontesi are very unhappy. We shall see how all this pans out. I just hope I don’t crash & burn in a tangle of me and my crutches.