That’s good; no, that’s bad

Have you ever noticed how life can feel perfectly calm, and then suddenly everything hits at once? The calm before the storm is a real phenomenon in nature. The atmosphere often becomes extra still and quiet just before a raging storm breaks. And then, when it finally rains, it often pours, as the saying goes.

What’s true in nature is often true in our personal and community lives as well. Life can seem pretty hum-drum and routine, with nothing eventful or momentous happening over long periods of time. And then suddenly there’s a downpour of difficult tasks, misfortunes, or even positive events that almost simultaneously hit us in a quick succession of waves.

Is it just me, or does it seem to the rest of you that there’s been a long drought largely free of maintenance, repair, and construction projects in Boulder City for quite some time? Until now, that is. All of a sudden, orange cones are cropping up everywhere.

I’ll probably forget a few. But here’s a list of some of the more prominent construction, maintenance, and repair projects underway in recent weeks across our sleepy little town:

1) the Nevada State Railroad Museum at the corner of Buchanan Boulevard and Boulder City Parkway;

2) the parking lot, sidewalk, utility, and ADA access improvements adjacent to City Hall and Bicentennial Park;

3) the Boulder City High School soccer field renovations;

4) the irrigation upgrades on the front nine holes of the Municipal Golf Course;

5) the new Travel Adventure Center being constructed next to the Chamber of Commerce facilities at the bottom of Nevada Way; and last, but certainly not least

6) the new homes under construction around Boulder Creek Golf Course.

Well, that’s half a dozen conspicuous ones. I’m sure you can think of others. And less noticeable ones are happening all the time as well, even in the seemingly calm years. Then there are the new swimming pool project and others on the horizon as well.

I’m not saying that these projects are somehow bad or poorly managed; only that they seem to be happening all at once.

Actually, I’ve been quite impressed at just how minimal the potentially negative impacts of these projects have been. Typical nuisances associated with major projects like these include dust, noise, vibrations, fumes, traffic congestion, and bright lighting at night, any or all of which can interfere with the quiet enjoyment of nearby properties that their owners are used to. But while I can’t say that these projects have been complaint-free, I do feel like the impacts have been minimized surprisingly well. In fact, were it not for the bright yellow vests and orange cones, for the most part I feel like these projects have hardly been noticeable.

Of course, there will always be some people who are more impacted than others, as well as certain people who are seemingly disgruntled about everything. Sometimes it just depends on whether you’re a glass-half-full person, or instead, a glass-half-empty person.

As Charles Dickens once penned in the opening lines of his classic “A Tale of Two Cities,” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, … it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” And I suppose it ever will be a dichotomous existence, depending on our individual perspectives.

That reminds me of the old “Hee Haw” skit played by barber Archie Campbell while giving a haircut to his regular customer Roy Clark or sometimes Grandpa Jones:

Archie: I guess you heard about my terrible misfortune. Grandpa: Oh? Archie: Yeah, my great-uncle died. Grandpa: Oh, that’s bad. Archie: No, that’s good. Grandpa: How come? Archie: Well, when he died, he left me $50,000. Grandpa: Oh, that’s good. Archie: No, that’s bad. Grandpa: How come? Archie: Well, when the IRS got through with it, all I had left was $25,000. Grandpa: Oh, that’s bad. Archie: No, that’s good. Grandpa: How come? Archie: Well, I bought me an airplane and learned to fly. Grandpa: Oh, that’s good. Archie: No, that’s bad. Grandpa: How come? Archie: Well, I’s flyin’ upside down the other day an’ I fell out o’ the dern thing. Grandpa: Oh, that’s bad. Archie: No, that’s good… and so on. You can Google the rest or watch it on YouTube for a few more laughs.

Sometimes we seemingly flip back and forth between our best days and our worst days faster than we can blink. And sometimes our best days are also our worst days all at once.

The potential upside of these local projects includes improved community infrastructure, revitalized neighborhoods, more accessible public facilities, enhancements to our local economy, increased property values, better amenities for our children, and more tourist attractions. But that doesn’t mean that the projects will be dust-free or universally popular.

We’ll all need to exercise a fair measure of community kindness and patience in order to see the fruits of these labors and reap the intended benefits.

My sincere hope is that we’ll each do our part.