ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 24, 1996 TAG: 9611250050
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Guest Column
SOURCE: MIKE MARLOW
In the summer of '39 in a small town in Poland, adults focused on the mess created by a small-scale private enterprise - the town's children were building tall sand castles each weekend to play their war games.
These near-sighted parents focused too late on the large-scale government enterprise that was soon to sweep into their town - an army of German tanks crashing through the woods and into the town to leave behind a mess far worse than anything the children had created.
In the fall of '96 in a small town in Virginia, adults focused on maintaining their quality of life under the impact of the small-scale private enterprise of some local business people who planned new developments in a less developed area of town. Many of the adults, not realizing they lived in homes and worked in buildings built by similar business people, were concerned the developments would make a mess.
The business people, however, thought they were just doing what they had always done. They regarded being prepared for new families in town as more important than keeping everything tidy for neighbors who wanted to control not only their own property but also their neighbors'.
The adults were just getting a small dose of preparation for the mess and confusion of a large-scale government enterprise that lay in store for them: an army of lawyers and public officials condemning property rather than negotiating for it, followed by an army of highway construction workers with earth movers and graders to build Interstate 73.
These would be followed by an army of outside business people ready to build national franchises by the dozen at and near every new interstate intersection, especially those in the midst of town.
It was regrettable that the attention of these neighbors never focused on the threat of invasion by federal highway constructors until it was too late to stop the damage to their town's quality of life.
In Poland in '39, a few adults prepared for and managed to slow the invasion. But leading personages in town were busy shoveling the kids' castles and had their heads in the sand when the tanks arrived.
In Virginia, some adults listened to their neighbors who had seen what Interstate 77 had done to Statesville, N.C. They forgot about their complaints with local business people. They worked together to stop this large-scale government enterprise from devastating their town. It was regrettable that there just weren't enough of them. They slowed the invading army, but failed to stop it.
In later years, they looked through the imported smog out over the endless rows of tacky businesses serving people driving in endless streams of traffic along characterless interstates through Blacksburg on their way from Michigan to South Carolina and back. They reminisced about how they had once hoped everybody in their town could brag that the invaders had not caught them with their heads in the sand, no sirree.
"At least," said one neighbor with a sense of humor, "we protected Toms Creek Basin for a couple of years from those local people who wanted to build a few buildings down there on their own property, as if they owned it."
"You mean," said another, " down there where we now have a three-lane service road, 11 fast-food joints and nine motels, all of them owned by international conglomerates?"
"That's the place," agreed the neighbor. And it was.
Mike Marlowe is a member of the Blacksburg High School Class of '67 who divides his time between writing a novel and preparing for a 30th class reunion next summer.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB