OutTakes
Commentary by Edd Merritt,
June 30,2011, page 18.....

Share the Road

In a favorite e.e. cummings poem, he says,
“it’s
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee”

Well, I’ve been the balloonMan recently, whistling far and wee through Charlotte, picking up good vibes and bad plus a sense that following this year’s spring, when the world truly was “mud luscious,” we are finally headed into summer.
It’s strange how thoughts present themselves sometimes. You’re not looking for them; they sneak up on you; cause your mind to spark and then reflect.
For example, manure did that to me the other day.
Manure happens this time of year and, frankly, I like it. The fields are alive with the sound of seagulls and pungent plops. The cow patty sign on the wall at Shelburne Farms barn reminds us of the agricultural value of this not-so-scarce commodity.
Cruising East Charlotte the other day, I passed four honey wagons going from fields to pits and back, spraying their odoriferous mixture on pastures, brown stripes on green grass, a few spots on the road. The only down side to this practice in my immediate neighborhood is that you may want to hold your outdoor cookouts in abeyance. I’m not certain how well barbecue tastes with a manure mist rising off surrounding fields. This, too, passes within days, however.
What seems to be building, though, is the mix of traffic as more bicyclists hit the roads. This is both a bad and good sign.
Vermont is touted as a haven for biking, and, in many respects, it is – lovely vistas, enough roads without congestion and some towns that have had the foresight to provide bike lanes.
Unfortunately, Charlotte is not one of them. In the last several days I have found myself in situations that I would describe as close calls because it appears that those on bicycles, for whatever reason, feel it unnecessary to obey the rules of the road – simple rules such as stopping at stop signs, peddling unplugged from tunes and riding single file rather than two or more abreast.
Please don’t think that I am generalizing to all bicyclists. Most, in fact, follow the rules and exhibit the caution that sharing space demands. And I suspect that most of the outlaws I’ve witnessed recently are not from Charlotte, so my concerns may well go unheard and unheeded. I want to lay them on the table, nonetheless, because we’re only going to see more sharing required as we move toward fall.
Lest I become too descriptive of the particular incidents in which I was involved and lay off the riders’ attitudes, it was really the latter that bugged me more than anything. The crème de la crème of perceived entitlement, for example, came as I was driving west on Hinesburg Road Monday. I reached the crest of the hill at the Mt. Philo Road intersection, stopped at one of four octagonal red signs and proceeded on. A bicyclist who was heading north came cruising through his Stop sign, not slowing a beat, causing me to jam on my brakes. He then threw profanity after profanity at me for not showing the common decency to let him pass unhindered by rules.
I disagreed and, as a result, let loose a few nasty remarks of my own – directed more at his lack of first-grade reading ability of the word “Stop” than anything else. I passed through the intersection simmering and went directly to the Library to vent with a sympathetic audience.
Two other similar incidents occurred at the Spear Street crossing where there is a flashing light as well as four stationary signs. Friends who live on the corner there have witnessed many more.
So, what’s different between drivers of honey wagons and this particular bicyclist? That word “attitude” again.
Last Friday I happened to be driving alongside a field that was being manured. The wagon was close to the street, spraying its plume like a brown umbrella. The driver must have seen me coming and cut the spray until I had passed. I waved thanks. He waved back, and we each proceeded on our ways – happy farmer, happy driver, no sense of entitlement shown by either person.
I hope we don’t lose the agricultural base in our community and the recognition of what it requires to mix it with a growing suburbia. The late spring, early summer scent that pervades pasture land, the recognition and acceptance of it by those of us who may not pilot the wagons but live with their contents nonetheless, are things I’d prefer to lining the fields with rows of similar houses. I’d seriously question the need for another golf course in Chittenden County if that question arose for Charlotte. I look forward to continuing with the East Village planning process.
Town planning and conservation are crucial to a community’s conscious effort to retain a balance with which people feel comfortable. I hope we will all immerse ourselves in the process and stay out of the excrement.

Now young Walter Hodgkins, he brought back a load.
Of liquid manure from the farm up the road
And he hummed to himself as he drove down the street
And his load also hummed in the afternoon heat.
“Fling it here, fling it there”
-- The Yetties