Hoist by my own petard


My local newspaper the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has been awash with stories of the vehicle traffic delays at St. Armand’s Circle.


St. Armand’s Circle is a traffic circle/roundabout/ rotary at the heart of St. Armand’s Key. (In Florida the barrier islands are known as “Keys”)

St. Armand’s Key is totally built up, and it took a while before I realized that it is in fact an island, linked to Longboat Key, Lido Key, and the mainland by various bridges and a causeway.


Folks who live or take vacations on St. Armand’s, Longboat or Lido Key have to drive through St. Armand’s Circle in order to reach the mainland.


And those of us who live on the mainland have to drive through the Circle to get to some superb beaches, or to shop and dine at the upscale establishments on St. Armand’s Key.


I have to drive through the Circle in order to reach my “second parish”  All Angels-by-the-Sea on Longboat Key.



I was at All Angels Church yesterday afternoon for a 4:00 p.m. event.  As I chatted with one of the church members, I “pooh-poohed” the terrible trials of those who encounter the traffic delays at the Circle.    I suggested that those folks who get angry at the delays should simply learn to “take time to smell the roses”.

That was a good theory at just before 4:00 p.m.   By the time I left All Angels (5:15 p.m.), the traffic delays were at their peak.  It took me one hour to drive eleven miles. I discovered that there were no roses to smell.

I was hoisted by my own petard!


See these links for “hoist by ones’ own petard”, and for a map of our Keys and the Mainland.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petard

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hl=en&tab=wl


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