August 2, 2007 10:37 am  |  33 Comments

It’s Called Perspective

Kevin Garnett Who??

We have to be careful about the things we complain
about, the things we despise that aren’t necessarily
worthy of such hate and the things we value that do
not involve love and honor.

Because when we forget the universe reminds us. We
should all say a prayer for those involved in
yesterdays terrible bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
All of a sudden the Kevin Garnett trade is the least
of their worries as they try to figure out how many
lives have been lost and why the bridge collapsed in
the first place.

I was out at an album release party last night
and had no idea until I got home. I turned on espn
news and I noticed across the ticker that they were
saying that tomorrow’s game (today now) between the Twins and
Royals was canceled. I noticed it and thought maybe
it’s weather-related or maybe they are having some
electrical problems. It was only when I turned to CNN
that I found out the truth. I’ve been glued to it
since.

It’s a scary thought, one minute you’re riding along
and then the next the very ground you’re on
disappears. It’s the sort of thing that easily
resonates with all of us, since it’s a disaster that
really can happen anywhere. It was a major
thoroughfare; a downtown bridge that connects the
city’s major hub (including the Twins stadium and the
University of Minn) and it was rush hour. This is a
worst-case scenario and I hate to hear things such as
this.

Every few years something like this happens (Bay Area
earthquake in ’89, WTC bombing, Hurricane Katrina,
etc) and shocks us out of our monotonous daily routine
and sends us quickly back to reality. Yes we all get
through these things and part of the healing process
is not allowing yourself to be consumed. You have to
return to your regular life. And yes I get that
and I know there isn’t much I can do here in NYC, but
I empathize with the situation.

Now I’m not gonna sit here and get all sanctimonious
on you, it’s not even about that. It’s about what you
value and how you express that. We all get caught up
in the paper chase, especially here in NY where money
and the sheisty mentality it spawns is followed with
near religious fervor. We sometimes forget to
prioritize like we should.

I go through that sometimes
as well. I’m out here grinding and trying to better my
life and worrying about the next pair of hot sneakers
or whatever bs is going on at the time. The truth is,
real happiness is not about making money. Its about
having people in your life that you care about who
make life worth living. It’s the reason why you go
to work, why you decide to start your own business
the reason why you try to get your life together. In the
hopes that you’ll be able to contribute to your own
happiness and the happiness of
others.The sad thing about it is when tragedies
happen the only thing you think about
is what you should have been thinking about all along.
But sometimes it’s too late.

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  • Ryan Jones Posted: Aug.2 at 10:41 am
    This sort of kills the whole vibe of the site, but well-said, Khalid.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Aug.2 at 10:45 am
    Khalid=Perspective=Class. Nice piece.

  • AJ$ Posted: Aug.2 at 10:47 am
    KG’s new nickname should be the bridge. As soon as he left Minnesota the bridge collapsed. Wut else in Minnesota is gonna collapse…?

  • Froggiestyle Posted: Aug.2 at 10:50 am
    Good looking out brother Khalid, I’d say an amen to that.

  • Max Airington Posted: Aug.2 at 10:51 am
    Minnesota thanks you Khalid.

  • Ryan Jones Posted: Aug.2 at 10:54 am
    Yeah, Max, I forgot this one was close to home for you. Hopefully you didn’t know anyone involved…

  • H to the izzo Posted: Aug.2 at 10:56 am
    A reminder that basketball is just a game.Ditto what Ryan said.Hope no-one you know was involved,Max

  • Max Airington Posted: Aug.2 at 11:05 am
    Were all cool. Thanks. Im just disappointed that it had to happen at all. They showed video of the bridge falling captured by a local security camera….Yeesh. Those bridges always made me uncomfortable. And theres a few of them like that in the TC. Like Kha said, prayers and thoughts for everyone involved in this tragedy…

  • Co Co Posted: Aug.2 at 12:56 pm
    Damn Khalid, we found out about it the same way and had the exact same reaction as far as turning to CNN. It’s a terrible situation and it’s something that will cross the mind of all commuters for months to come. I hope the families who lost loved ones are able to pick up the pieces.

  • Ron Posted: Aug.2 at 12:58 pm
    When you put things in perspective, was the bridge collapse caused by an overabundance of KG fans trying to jump off? All jokes aside, this had the potential to be an even worse disaster than it is shaping up to be(thank God), but we Americans are slowly going to start to see things like this as our infrastructure is aging more and more everyday. Think of it along the same lines of the steam line explosion in NYC. Governmental agencies are hesitant to admit it, but there needs to be substancial funding for new and improved infrastructures throughout this country. Unfortunately all the billions of dollars required to accomplish such a task won’t be used to better our land because it’s being sent to Iraq. All hail George W. Bush(Bastard).

  • Khalid Salaam Posted: Aug.2 at 1:57 pm
    Max any word on why the bridge collapsed and if their any other bridges with similar potential??

  • Co Co Posted: Aug.2 at 1:59 pm
    I saw on CNN that the bridge had been described as “structurally deficient” 2 times in the past 6 years.

  • Max Airington Posted: Aug.2 at 2:12 pm
    Most of the footage I saw last night was from Doctors, eyewitnesses and local politicians. Most of the talk was about the recovery efforts, but there were a few mentions about there being construction on that particular bridge at the time of the crash. It was apparently in need of repair. The Mississippi runs right thru the heart of the TC and there are more than a few similar bridges. Theres been no word of their condition but Im sure that theyll all receive prompt inspection. Im no engineer, but I really do wish that Minneapolis had drawbridges like Chicago. Maybe theyre safer in some way?

  • dblizzy! Posted: Aug.2 at 2:18 pm
    I am by now means a civil engineer, but how can a bridge be deemed “structurally deficient” but not require immediate renovation or structural repair. I don’t want to place blame here, this is a horrific tragedy, but that just leads to the speculation that this could have been avoided.

  • jbn74sb Posted: Aug.2 at 2:18 pm
    The night before last, I watched a show on National Geographic HD called “Collapse”. It focused primarily on the collapse of buildings around the world, and the causes behind them, as well as the warning signs that were ignored. One of the main features involved the collapse of a mall in South Korea that killed about 500 people. One woman survived in a pocket beneath the rubble for 16 days. Incredible…

  • Cheryl Posted: Aug.2 at 2:24 pm
    Ron raises a serious point: with money being diverted to fight the so-called “war on terror” (how can you fight a war on emotions? though, I have a little war on emotions about once a month–but maybe that’s not a topic for this site…), what is happening with the upgrading and upkeep of the nation’s infrastructure? I was reading a similar article recently about the country’s air traffic control towers being in disrepair so bad that the ATC’s union is calling it a crisis. We, the people, really do need to hold our elected officials accountable to these issues. Okay, rant over…

  • Ron Posted: Aug.2 at 3:09 pm
    Cheryl, the ATC issue is totally crazy. Did you know that the doppler radar you see on the news weather reports every day is better technology than what the ATC towers have in place. Whay are we using better technology to track storms than we use to track planes carrying hundreds of people. There was almost a collision on the runway here in Philly due to an idiot pilot misinterpretting the command from the ATC.

  • Dennard Posted: Aug.2 at 4:10 pm
    Just a horrific incident. My thoughts and prayers are with the families that have to go through this. This puts things in proper perspective indeed.

  • dblizzy! Posted: Aug.2 at 4:50 pm
    Why aren’t people as quick to point out the funding of these athletes bank accounts when they talk about the worlds financial needs? Everyone is quick to point to the war (which I DON’T support) But billions of dollars are spent for grown men and women, to play games every year…

  • Dennard Posted: Aug.2 at 5:31 pm
    An athlete’s bank account pales in comparison to their owner’s bank account. The government has the ability to provide the funding necessary to prevent incidents like a bridge collapsing or they can provide more funding for education, but the main focus isn’t where it should be. That’s primarily one of the reasons this war is getting the flak that it deserves, money that could be used elsewhere is being used on a pointless war. Nearly 3,700 soldiers have died and there still hasn’t been any noticible progress on the “War on Terror.” Just a sad state of affairs.

  • DP Posted: Aug.2 at 7:35 pm
    You know what, I used to be afraid of death. But know I am not scared to die. Seeing all these things happen on the news made me realize that we must live life to the fullest each and every day. It is not just the bridge but so much other stuff is going on in the world that I believe all of this is a sign. A sign of things to come in the future. I’m not afraid anymore because I know when my time comes, the Lord will take me away. I am just thankful for my life everyday and my families lives. I pray for those who are going through this tragic event right now. But I now see that the world is coming to an end and every day we get to see is truly a blessing. play wit it.

  • Ed Posted: Aug.2 at 9:22 pm
    Very well said Kahlid.

  • gelly Posted: Aug.3 at 2:13 am
    KG held that bridge up with his fighting spirit for 12 years. Thats what I see it as, a horrible tradgedy, and somehow a symbol for the loss of KG

  • weezy leezy Posted: Aug.3 at 3:40 am
    im really not trying to sound like im hatin but somebody out there had big enough pockets to renovate the Twins stadium for next year. Why couldn’t the local government budget monies to renovate “structurally deficient” 8-lane bridges? where does our money go? what do politicians do all day?

  • bootlace Posted: Aug.3 at 4:59 am
    Kinda weird that a bridge collapsing led to this epiphany, but true points I guess.

  • Khalid Salaam Posted: Aug.3 at 1:45 pm
    weezy our tax dollars go to many things. police, schools, soc security, farm subsidies, etc. its just the military thats wasting our money, there are many things. thats why things like bridge maintenance gets left beind moneywise until something like this happens. its not the biggest priority. i was reading something earlier today where its estimated that the cost of getting all the bridges that need work in america up to par would cost about 1 trillion dollars.

  • Khalid Salaam Posted: Aug.3 at 1:46 pm
    i meant its NOT just the military that is wasting money

  • Sam Rubenstein Posted: Aug.3 at 1:49 pm
    They did a survey of the bridges in the city. The Brooklyn Bridge was rated “Poor” and it was built in 1883. These are not good things.

  • Boing Dynasty Posted: Aug.3 at 8:55 pm
    20% of bridges are rated at defeciant, cost 9 billion a year for 20 years to fix them all.

  • solid snake Posted: Aug.4 at 1:19 am
    AJ$, you are an idiot!

  • The Big Lead Posted: Aug.4 at 4:32 pm
    white hoe eboy sucks!

  • Yaro Posted: Aug.4 at 8:36 pm
    I don’t live in the Us, but I think that brides are the begining of this list:
    tunels, buildings, subways, elevated train traks, elevated roads (like in LA), docks, etc… they should be inspected. Yeah, it’s a lot. But a don’t think Us citizens want another event like this, not when it can be prevented.

  • weezy leezy Posted: Aug.8 at 7:32 am
    i feel u khalid, maybe i shouldnt say “where does our money go”. I know money doesnt stretch far nowadays. But I saw on the news that the mayor over there TWICE vetoed to allocate funds to fix roadways. And someone DID have a whole lotta money to spend on the Twins stadium. rich people only put money into sh*t to make more money. and i know it aint his fault but still its kinda messed up i guess . something coulda been done but people runnin the show be droppin the ball alot! like katrina, do we have to keep learning the frickin hard way? people have to frickin DIE, then we look back at what shoulda been done. someone needa go find a trillion frickin dollars somewhere and start fixin some sh*t or like Yaro said it’s jus the begining…nah but on the real, i’d hate to see the brooklyn bridge go out like that

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