Where the Sidewalk Falls

As a child, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was one of my favorites.

The poems and drawings inside were brilliant and always made my mind wonder if such things could actually happen. Nah, never. It was all for fun.

Think again.

The other day as I was walking near the Covered Bridge, the sidewalk gave out. Yes. Little old me managed to break through the sidewalk. I did not fall to the center of the earth as you might be imagining right now, but mid-stride a cobble stone fell out and down to who knows where.

My left foot was on the sidewalk while my right foot and shin had been grabbed by the sidewalk. I had no idea what had happened because there was no hole for me to step in. It was true, the force of my weight and the push of my stride broke the sidewalk. After pulling my foot out, I investigated and looked under the stones. I have come to the conclusion that since this part of the sidewalk was near a grate, water must have been rushing underneath during the recent flooding and washed away the ground below.

I realize that the Town of Jay Highway Department has a lot to do right now trying to put roads back together and such, but I did call (as any good citizen would) to inform them of the falling sidewalk near the Covered Bridge.

They are probably running out of cones and/or signs to warn other pedestrians from this happening, so consider yourself warned. Oh, and for the record, I did not break my ankle.