Friday, July 25, 2008

new bridge, old premonition



The new bridge that I had blogged many months ago actually opened last 9 June with not much of a thud, but greeted with sheer relief by commuters after months of exhausting, grinding traffic. The contractors may be credited for surprisingly fast and structuraly sound construction.

It didn't take long though for the passers to notice something amiss. What used to be a local's simple pleasure of having glimpses of the historical Davao River while crossing the bridge is now blocked by drab walls, a foreboding premonition once blogged here.

Perhaps it may still take time for this society to be civilized and cultured enough to appreciate an aestheticaly pleasing bridge. Right, what matters more to other people are the practicalities first, but after their bellies are fed it still matters with the individual keen to the art of feeding one's soul, rather than the lack of it for such cannot appreciate the role and value of art in building a nation, not just in building a bridge.

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