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Floating Out of My Comfort Zone
I have a confession to make. Until last week I had never been in a kayak in my life. That seems really strange to me because I watch them almost every day from my tower on the drawbridge. I’ve always thought it looked like fun. I just never quite got around to it. That probably…
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The Eye of the Beholder
The other day a dear friend pointed out to me that the bridge tower I work in is basically the aesthetic equivalent of a concrete bunker, and the green and rusted girders make the bridge itself rather ugly. That really took me by surprise (and even hurt my feelings for a hot second). I had…
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My Career from Above
I decided to check out all my bridges on Google Maps. Ah, what memories.
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A New Point of View
Every once in a while it’s fun to shake things up. Sticking to a routine may feel quite comfortable, but it isn’t particularly exciting. So recently I volunteered to trade bridges with a coworker, just for a day. I got to work at Fremont Bridge here in Seattle. It’s been well over a year since…
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Suspicious Package
I was walking to the south end of my bridge to do some much-needed maintenance when I came upon a large shopping bag, apparently stuffed full of clothing. It was right in the middle of the sidewalk and no one was in sight. I wasn’t about to go rooting around in this bag. After all,…
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Where are All the Bridgetenders?
Bridge operators are a quirky group. We like our privacy. We tend to be slow to trust. We like to be kings of our castles, so to speak. Plus some of us (not me, not anymore) work under some draconian rules and have to fear for our livelihood. That’s probably why there isn’t a widespread…
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Peregrine-Nation
There are many things about the city of Seattle that I absolutely love. One is that in spite of its overcrowded urban sprawl and nightmarish traffic, it really tries hard to accommodate the natural world whenever possible. The fortune that it spent on fish ladders so the salmon could transit the ship canal is a…
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I’m Wide Awake, Here!
I recently had a blind date with a guy, and when he discovered I was a bridgetender, he got this smirk on his face. I knew what was coming next. The stereotype. Few people even know we exist, but those who do seem to assume that we all sleep through our shifts. This assumption drives…
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My Morning
Last night I got off work at 11pm. I went straight home, and managed to squeeze in 5 hours of sleep before getting up at 5:45am in order to go back to work at 7am. Oh, but there’s more. I get out to my car, and all the windows are frosted over. It’s 32 degrees…