Thursday, August 02, 2007

I (heart) Minneapolis-St. Paul

The news of the bridge collapse in the Minneapolis area yesterday really sent a shiver up my spine. I've only been in the cities twice, for a few days each time, several years ago when my sister graduated from high school and later college at St. Cloud State. Thing is, I'm pretty positive I've been on that bridge. Spooky.

However, the biggest scare came in knowing that I have friends in the Twin Cities area. I'm lucky enough to have met some great bloggers in the area and developed some great friendships. Then there's Chuck and his wife Steph and daughter Daisy from Behind Bars. Minneapolis is a wonderful place and I have a serious soft spot for the city and the people.

That said, my thoughts and prayers are with you all. I hope everybody is safe and accounted for. I sure hope all of you are well- sincerely.

My Minneapolis-St.Paul friends;
Andy (can't find your blog)
Sascha
Skibby
Smithers (Chris Smith)
Super Rookie
Gilby
Spencer
(There are others who I can't quite remember right now.)

Not long ago, these fine folks also lost one of their dear friends, Eric Lappegard- the Vegan Ninja, from complications stemming from a terrible car accident. Eric was a talented guy who penned a great comic and who will be missed by those who knew and loved him. If you can, please consider giving a little to help Eric's family (info on his website).

Kinda seems like the city has been having a bad few weeks, so I am sending my warmest wishes and I hope you will too.

Tim

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went up to St Paul once to attend a seminar. Left me the impression of a laid back, not so much in a hurry society. People were few, unlike the heavily populated midwest cities. Streets were clean...and it was February.
Neat place.

SickBoy said...

tim - my blog's gone.... but all the local cyclo-bloggers seem to be ok.

http://kristykremeadventures.blogspot.com - this is a teammate of mine and the fiance of our (Silver/Hollywood) sponsor shop owner - she drove over the bridge (apparently) about 10 mins before the collapse.

certainly thanks for the thoughts and prayers, and may they be directed to those who are directly affected... the rest of us just gotta deal with some extra traffic.

Anonymous said...

Well said, Tim.

Sascha said...

I think we are all good. At least Gilby was good enough to get some splinters in her ass at the track last night. I never left the house that day and rarely go to that side of downtown. But it really is horrific and the amount of blame and finger pointing is quite amazing. I'm sure whoever is deemed to be at fault will be sued into abject poverty by anyone and everyone who was affected, even those who were nowhere near the bridge but can probably sue on the grounds that they were still traumatized by it.

Gilby said...

Thanks for the thoughts & prayers, Tim. The gal I was match sprinting against last night lost someone she knew in the bridge collapse, the mother of her high school friend.

One of the first people on the scene was one of our local track racers, who was commuting home from work. He was 20 seconds short of being under the bridge as it collapsed, and literally saw it fall in front of him. He was a real hero, helping people out of their cars and off of the bridge.

On a lighter note, would you people quit spreading rumors about my ass?! The splinters are in my hip. My HIP!

Luc Debaisieux said...

I'm with you on this Tim. It is horrifying to imagine what people there must have been through. I hope the government will take measures to check and secure old bridges. Too bad an accident has to happen before measures are taken.

Donna T. said...

Tim - nicely said...it's a lovely city, one that I would like to spend more time in. And, there is a great cycling community there. I've checked in with a few of the folks I know there and everyone seems to be well, which is a blessing. The people who are affected are in my thoughts still..