Tuesday, May 02, 2006

A Bridge to Nowhere


Bridge over the Tombigbee River. Columbus, Mississippi.
(Click picture for larger view)
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"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known." ~ A.A. Milne
The old bridge to the "island" in Columbus, Mississippi is old and rusted now, really a bridge to nowhere. You can see just a glimpse of the modern concrete structure behind but this bridge has character. The concrete supports have arched details and those on land form dark and moody frames for many a high school senior's picture, including Nyssa's. The town built a small park on the land around and under the bridge with walkways to the water, picnic tables and at Christmas an electric light display on the upper level. Max and I visited this quiet place often that last spring in Mississippi, as the realtor showed our home to prospective buyers. The entry was almost hidden and of course there were those rumors of drunken orgies and kids jumping off the bridge that have plagued small Mississippi towns since Bobby Gentry sang those fateful words..."I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge, today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge." I could never look at this picture without hearing that song in my head. Do you have a favorite "bridge to nowhere?"

Submission to Tuesdays Photos for topic "bridge". (end of post)

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