Street Corner

I was in downtown Dallas, Texas.

I had walked across the street.

At the street corner I stepped from the street up to the sidewalk.

There at the corner I noticed the three different projects.

There was the asphalt of the street.

There was the concrete of the curb.

There were the bricks of the sidewalk.

In this section of downtown many sidewalks and streets use bricks.

Then I asked, “What is that?”

The intersection of the streets was also the intersection of pubic works projects.

That bit of property under my feet had been carefully planned.

Lots of people had a small part in making that become a reality.

Those materials did not magically fall out of the sky.

They did not spring up from the dirt like random weeds.

Some citizens did not spontaneously volunteer to make it one weekend.

Here is my best guess on how that street corner came into existence.

Long ago city employees crunched lots of numbers.

They crafted a bond election to raise the money.

These three projects were likely done on different years.

Some other people worked hard to get the residents to vote for the bonds.

Evidently the bond drive passed.

Then a department on the city planned where and how to do each public works project.

There were many other curbs, sidewalks or streets in each project.

Then each one was put out for bids.

The contracts went to qualified contractors.

Those contractors had engineers and chemists on staff.

What struck me originally were those chemists that remain nameless and faceless.

The ones on the payroll today stand on the shoulders of those that went before.

That curb is strong and durable.

It has been there a long time and will continue for a long time.

Surely over the years there have been improvements to the chemistry of those materials.

The chemists of those companies had modified the work of other chemists in other companies.

There were lots of construction workers that actually turned the plans into things.

Those construction workers needed truck drivers to deliver the raw materials.

There were clerical and legal people that had a small role in each project.

Surely construction materials and processes have improved in the last 5, 10, 20 and 40 years.

The bottom line is that we live in a complex world.

Our modern life has lots of layers.

Even the most mundane parts have an unseen history.

We live in an interconnected society.

Chemists and chemical engineers play an important role in our daily lives.

We could not get around like we do without civil engineers and truck drivers.

Without them the sidewalks would be dirt paths.

The roads would be full of ruts.

When it rained the mud would be terrible due to a lack of suitable drainage.

I can only see the world through my pair of eyes.

I can only hear the world through my pair of ears.

I can only touch the world through my pair of hands.

But there is another perspective on the world besides just a me-centered universe.

I live in a society where I am one of many players that interact daily.

Pondering the stories behind the street corner can connect me to my fellow citizens.

These many men and women are not silent servants.

Each one has a voice.

Their hands and minds combined to make this and every street corner.

Maybe another designation is invisible servants.

I see you there invisible servants.