FILTH, SLIME, PUTRESCENCE

I am proud and happy to live in a dirt road.

Of course, there are certain disadvantages to this.

You end up spending more on tires than someone who drives normally on paved roads home.

My speed is sharply reduced on the last two miles home by water-holes, bumps, rattlesnakes, jackrabbits, roadrunners, and my self-imposed rule that I do not allow my truck to raise any dust, which sometimes in dusty Arizona keeps me at a literal crawl.

And I must share at least .75 miles of dirt road with approximately 83.2 other people.

Who do not all abide by the same driving limits that I put on myself.

The logic held by many of these fellow dirt-road-drivers it that if you simply just drive fast enough, you fly over the bumps, ruts and living breathing animals crossing the road.

This type of driving, however, beats the hell out of the road.

Which led to the first meeting tonight of the Neighbors for Improved Roads (N.I.R.).

This is not a new subject, and in the not-quite 10 years I have lived on this particular dirt road, this is the fourth organized group formed to conquer the problem.

Many familiar complaints were brought up - why doesn't the county/state take care of this road (because it is all privately owned land, not part of a development which would then be required to construct roads which would then be eligible to county maintenance) - how are we going to change anything (by individually contributing monies towards construction of a maintainable type of road).

And then my favorite - "But not everyone is here at this meeting; are we going to end up paying for them and how can we get them to cough the money up for this project?"

I then raised my hand, and very firmly stated, "Let's all just be adults and move forward with this project instead of getting into a prolonged pissing contest about who does and doesn't help out."

I received a rousing round of applause.