Unbuilding the Grace and Pearman Bridges


For Sparky and myself, curiosity drives passion which in turn fuels our life's engine. Our passion was capturing the story of both unbuilding the Grace (1929 - 2007) and Pearman (1966 - 2007) Bridges and discovering the unbuilders. It takes a lot of passion to track a project from July 2005 until April 2007 - rain, shine, hurricanes or moving to Singapore. We discovered the joy of discovery learning. Ken Canty opened the front door for us - then Steve Testa, Ponch Billingsley and Mickey Rogers opened many side doors. Below are the highlights of what we discovered, who we met and what we learned.

And a reminder from T.S. Eliot (East Coker from the Four Quartets)

Home is where one starts from. As we grow older
The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated
Of dead and living. Not the intense moment
Isolated, with no before and after,
But a lifetime burning in every moment
And not the lifetime of one man only
But of old stones that cannot be deciphered.

March 12, 2007: Basel, shadows and reflections

The day starts with an early morning moon

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Trams are fun - and I can't get enough of them. The Ramada provided a week pass - so all places are accessible including the airport at Mulhouse. At each tram stop is a sign that tells the time for the next tram. Wonderfully convenient particularly for impatient Frank.

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Here it comes

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and a bit closer

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and the schedule

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and closer to read

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Then the Rhine - with this delightful statue of someone waiting (also). Note the suitcase to the lower right

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One of the two bridges in Basel for crossing the Rhine.

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There are also two small ferries, powered by the river. The cable is attached to the boat and the combination of river current and steering propels the ferry across the river.

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and a lady exercising with a nice shadow

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The flowers are out (early)

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with a few late bloomers

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A rose with nice shadows

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Walking back - I passed a construction site - new colors for Steve Testa and his team

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The Ramada where I am staying

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and reflections

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

C. Frank Starmer

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