Dear Action Line,
Now that the epic 32nd Street and County Road 250 project is finished, we can all celebrate. But after the power pole was moved, a new feature appeared: a chunk of firewood strapped between the pole and a wire.
Before the neighborhood starts donating more logs to help “support the infrastructure,” could you find out what this wooden wonder is supposed to be doing?
Signed, Logged On
Dear Logged On,
This is indeed mysterious looking – it reminded me of the “The Doomsday Machine” episode of the original Star Trek series, where the crew of the Enterprise sees the title object floating through space, which at first looks like a giant log with a burning ember at the end. Some people have likened it to looking like a “Bugle” snack, as it was sort of cone shaped, although I have to admit that when watching the reruns in college, we thought it looked more like a burning marijuana cigarette (what some hipsters might call a “joint”). But I digress ...
I went out to the intersection of 32nd Street and County Road 250 (East Animas Valley Road), and sure enough there’s that “chunk of firewood” up in the air, holding together “messenger wires,” which support power and telecommunications cables.
It’s not actually a chunk of firewood, but just a section of the old power and telephone pole that was there before a new pole was placed at the edge of the newly redone section of County Road 250, which has been widened. It’s not strapped together, rather the old attachment hardware, screwed into the pole section cut away from the rest of the discarded pole, was just left in place. I talked to the construction workers there and they said it’s a temporary solution holding the messenger wires together until a more permanent fix is made (that project isn’t completely done yet). Pretty ingenious, I think, rather than spending a bunch of money on some other temporary jawn.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Today’s Fun Fact: Bugles snacks were first sold nationally in 1966, just a year before the Star Trek “Doomsday Machine” episode aired – coincidence? Maybe, but I do know from my childhood that Bugles were (are?) often paired with Philadelphia Cream Cheese for a delicious artery-clogging snack. And the word “jawn”? That’s an all-purpose term used locally in the Philadelphia area for any place, thing, person or ... whatever. So the next time you are at an Eagles Superbowl party and someone says “pass me the jawn that that jawn from up the street brought,” you’ll know that that jawn asking you is referring to the Bugles and cream cheese plate sitting over on that jawn. Or it could be something else, I don’t really know.
