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| We are not talking about this kind of crown |
For example, the Sowers4Pastors water system pipes water from a river that’s five miles away. If something happens to one of those pipes, the repair falls on them. The same is true for the solar energy grid that provides them with electricity. They are always in a state of maintaining, troubleshooting, and thinking about what parts they may need in the future. (There’s not a Home Depot/Lowe’s on every corner, either!) Today, we’re going to talk about the difficult road of taking care of roads. But first, let’s learn some fun facts about roads and stuff to get in the zone.
Some Fun Facts About Roads and Stuff:
Ancient Roman roads are still visible all across Europe. Some of them still have their original cobbles.
Construction of the Appian Way began in 312 BC and the road covers a distance of 350 miles.
Ancient Romans did not construct any roads in Honduras.
The road leading to the Sowers’ property runs for one mile in one direction and two miles in the other direction.
The driveway leading up to the Sowers’ homes is about 600 feet long. Ancient Romans didn’t build that either.
One reason those ancient Romans had it going on when it came to road construction was because they understood the importance of making the center of the road a little higher than the sides. That allows the water to run off quickly instead of pooling in the road and causing it to erode.
That intentional sloping of a road is known as a “crown.”
The Crown is available for streaming on Netflix, but it has nothing to do with roads.
Allen is a big fan of crowns on roads. There is no word about his feelings toward The Crown.
Now that you know all of those fun facts, we can talk more about the Sowers’ roads. Like so many roads not built by ancient Romans, they had fallen into disrepair. They were still fine for hearty pickups to pass, but smaller SUVs were running the risk of being swallowed by SUV-eating potholes. Life in a developing country means that no government entity is going to swoop in and take care of smaller roads. And those ancient Romans are long gone. Soooo… The issue of maintaining their roads falls squarely on the shoulders of Sowers4Pastors.
A month or so back, they sent the work crew from the farm out to work on several spots that were almost impassable. They went out with shovels and picks to work on some of the aforementioned SUV-eating potholes. This week, they have a full-fledged road grader out. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Rainy season has ended and the dry season is just beginning. That means the road will last the maximum amount of time before the potholes take over again. It was quite the coup to get the road grader at this time. Elections are coming up and it’s a time when politicians want to spruce up the more visible areas.
Two days prior to the road grader coming out with his equipment, the farm’s work crew went out with machetes to widen the path by getting grass and brush out of the way. This is part of the grading process to allow a ditch to be dug on the sides of the road to give rain a place to go. The removal of plant matter is also important because you don’t want it to mix with the road material. If that happens, it leaves potholes when the plants rot.
Allen should probably be wearing an ancient Roman toga because his primary objective is to oversee the grader and make sure that he makes a nice high crown. There is a tendency for road graders in Honduras to pride themselves on making an almost flat road. Allen is wanting a crown suitable for the road to wear to a coronation. A flat road looks nice until the first heavy rains. A nice, high crown is always in style!
- posted by Christi
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