...literally. How big is your block? We were sitting outside talking with the neighbors tonight. It became evident in our conversation about what a block is that I am the only one that defines it the way I do. (I know, normal people probably talk about politics and work stories...)
To me, a block is like an island surrounded by streets. If a city is well planned, a block is square and roughly a certain size. If you live in the suburbs, a block gets distorted by winding roads, shopping centers, and whatnot. Our block in Yucaipa was almost exactly a mile around. We used to "walk around the block" all the time. Here, the neighborhood goes on forever and has countless cul-de-sacs. But I've often wondered how long it would be if I followed it all the way around. (I know I'm sounding weirdo here, but this is the stuff I think about, for better or worse.)
On my most recent run, I did it! I took off down my street and followed it back and forth and in and out exactly ten cul-de-sacs. I had to pass a gated community since I can't hop the fence. Me and my iPod whizzed by a bank, a grocery store, a barber shop, a karate studio, drycleaners, pet supply, a doctor's office, a dozen or more restaurants, and a gas station! In essence, the block my house is on is a city in itself. I could do all the business a soul needs to do without ever crossing a street.
The distance? Almost four miles! And I ran the sucker. I've been around the block. How big is your block?
3 comments:
I can't believe you passed all that stuff and only circled four miles. You know what's four miles up my road? Desert. You know what's four miles down my road? More desert. Okay, there are a few other houses and even one volunteer fire station, but to get anything else I have to go about eight miles, where there's a bank, a McDonalds, a Joanne's and Toucan Market, which tries to be like Trader Joe's but fails exceedingly. And since I live on a dead end street that branches off a dead end street, there is no block. That was one thing my obsessive mind loved about living in Utah, with very few exceptions, the city is one neat block after one neat block, all perfectly square. And the streets are ALL numbered, it's like you have your lattitude and longitude at every intersection, and you can always figure out how to get from where you are to where you want to go without a map.
Yes, and it's not even a four-mile circle. It's more like two. The other two miles are taken up in the cul-de-sacs.
My mind is spinning trying to imagine your dead end street off of another dead end street and how far you'd actually have to go to stay "on your block" without crossing a street. So... do you like having a friend who spends valuable time thinking about stuff like this? :)
I remember when my aunt and uncle lived in Utah, they always bragged about how well planned-out it all was (they lived in Sandy) and how easy to navigate. For them, and for you, maybe. All the numbers make my mind boggle. I do better with words/names/landmarks, etc.
How did I ever marry an engineer?
4 miles, wow Teri, you're my hero!
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