Frost Heaves and Black Ice

There are two phenomena particular to Northern cold climates that can cause problems on a road. The first is called a Frost Heave. When moisture from sub-ground level forms below the surface of a road - then freezes - the area of the road will sometimes expand upward. Ice takes on a physical dimension 9% larger than it's liquid counterpart. This causes the road to crest, which can be extremely hazardous to a driver going merrily his or her own way. Without notice, the vehicle can suddenly become slightly airborne, which is never a good thing. The second phenomenon indigenous to the Northern climates is called Black Ice. Most ice formed on the road has some sort of sprinkling of snow or condensation on the top, making it very easy to see. Occasionally though, ice will form over the pavement without the film of evidence marking its position. This is called black ice because of the transparency of the ice itself through to the road. An approaching driver cannot see the black ice because it looks exactly like the rest of the road. The result can be cataclysmic. In both cases, it becomes a matter of perspective on what you see versus what you don't see.

How you navigate through the black ice and frost heaves of every day life is the same way. What do you see as opposed to what I see?

When you see a commercial airliner angling gracefully up into the sky after takeoff, do you see a marvel of mankind and the human spirit? Do you see a vision of happy people on their way to Hawaii? Or do you see the memory of one of these massive structures being used for the most devastating of all acts several years ago?

We're in the mall going through a store and we glance over at the cosmetics section and see a woman fully 55 years old with one striking feature. Her "upper section" is taught, high, and resembles that of a 23 year old. What do we see here? An attractive person trying to stay that way by using medical science to her advantage, or do we see someone who thinks youth comes in the form of a scalpel and a few ounces of plastic foam? Do we view her as secure or insecure?

New Orleans got whacked, we all know that much to be true. The question here is do we see a failure of the local, state, and federal agencies assigned oversight, or do we see a natural catastrophe made 1000 times worse by a 4th generation of financial dependency on the government to come through for them? Do we see a system of hand-outs that was exposed by the storm as being outdated and in need of serious reform, or do we see racism and a government that just doesn't care about minorities?

Lastly, when we see throngs of thousands in the Middle East chanting and celebrating death, do we see a group of people trying to get out of their situation by being righteous, or do we see a new wave of potential terrorists forming right in front of your eyes on the television?

It's imperative that we all ask each other these questions and others like this because in the answers lies the makeup of our nation's character - moral, ethical, and philosophical. In the answers we will find the foundation for how we will grow - or whither- in the future. Is there a patch of black ice lying around the next curve? Is there a frost heave waiting to throw our car into the air, off the road, and into a tree? We can look at a thousand blogs and get a thousand different perspectives, which is simultaneously the beauty as well as the pratfall of freedom. In the 1940's we had a collective mentality, which lead to the destruction of the Nazi's, the Mussolini Fascists, and the Imperial Empire of Japan...all nations that are now strong allies.

Is our mentality collective at this time? Do we have the national resolve to go through another D-day right now? 10,000 young men died on French beaches in the first hour of June 6th, 1944. If CNN were there filming live, could we handle it in our society today? There may come a time soon when we are faced with the challenge of pulling together regardless of ideology or political affiliation. The successful will be those with a collective mindset...ummmm...like extremist fundamentalists have right now. Is the fact that our boobs are sagging more important than making sure we're prepared mentally to take on a very formidable opponent? Is gay marriage more important than Airport or Border security? Maybe it is...from reading hundreds of blogs and watching the news, apparently there are a lot of people who think so and want to debate these things first.

We'll see, I guess. In the meantime, we'd better keep our eyes on the road just in case.