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I had Tibor Gergley's "Great Big Book of bed time stories". There is a story in it called "Make way for the thruway" by Caroline Emerson. It is about an old lad
by kghose 12y ago
I had Tibor Gergley's "Great Big Book of bed time stories". There is a story in it called "Make way for the thruway" by Caroline Emerson. It is about an old lady who refuses to vacate her house so that they can make a highway. It has a happy ending when sympathetic construction workers build the road around her house, and she becomes the famous old lady with the pretty house next to the highway.
My favorite quote:
"You'll be paid for your land," said Mike.
"Money isn't everything in this world," said the little old lady.
Aww, heck, you guys deserve the whole paragraph:
"You'll be paid for your land," said Mike.
"Money isn't everything in this world," said the little old lady.
...
Next day, the Big Boss drove to the old house. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, "this house must come down."
"Young man," said the little old lady, "I've lived in this house for seventy years. I watched those trees grow. I planted that rose bush. I'm not leaving."
"But the thruway must go through," said the Big Boss. "People want the quickest, shortest way these days."
"What's their hurry?" asked the little old lady.
The Big Boss shook his head. he didn't know.
...
(After the diversion has been built)
"Oh, look at the roses!" people cry as they drive by. They slow down a little to look.
"Hum," says the little old lady to her cat, "they're not in such a hurry, after all."
- hawkice 12y agoHaving a beautiful house right next to the highway is a lot noisier than my personal dream residence -- and less quaint when your entire neighborhood abandons you. Money isn't everything, but I can't help but feel she got the fuzzy end of that banana.
- mikeash 12y agoMaybe she likes noise and hates people.
- dspillett 12y agoThere is a farm in the middle of the M62 over here, though contrary to popular tail it was left that way more for geographical reasons than because the owner of the land didn't want to sell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M62_motorway#Stott_Hall_Farm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M62_motorway#Stott_Hall_Farm Why the road splits to go around both sides instead of just one I'm not sure though.
- facepalm 12y agoIsn't it rather antisocial not to sell for public building? I don't understand why everybody sides with the holdouts. Also I feel sorry for everybody who lives next to a highway.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- scuba7183 12y agoIf someone showed up at your house and told you that you had to leave, would you?
- mike-cardwell 12y agoPersonally, it would depend on why they want me to move. If it's so they can build something of huge public benefit and have sound reasoning for why it needs to go through my house, and I'm compensated suitably, then yes of course I would leave. Doing otherwise would be selfish. But if they don't fulfill all of those requirements, I would probably still move if they increased the compensation offering enough.
- toyg 12y agoConcepts like "huge public benefit" and "sound reasoning" are in the eye of the beholder; and as mentioned above, money isn't everything. Especially for old people, memories can be more of a comfort than cash, and losing your home inevitably means losing some of those memories.
- mike-cardwell 12y ago> Concepts like "huge public benefit" and "sound reasoning" are in the eye of the beholder; Yes. That's why my first word was "Personally" > and as mentioned above, money isn't everything. Yes. That's why I wrote "compensated suitably" and "increased the compensation offering enough". > Especially for old people, memories can be more of a comfort than cash, and losing your home inevitably means losing some of those memories. That seems rather condescending to old people to me.