Asphalt and Tar

Today I needed to stretch and get out of my chair at work, so I decided to walk across the street to Rite-Aid to get some Mother's Day cards. (I know - *gasp*!! I actually am buying cards ahead of time! Wonder of all wonders.)

Anyhow, I rounded the corner and was greeted by the warm smell of asphalt and tar; the Vons shopping center is apparently resurfacing their parking lot. And, ah, the memories! It reminded me of the time when we lived in Spring Valley (so I was six) and they came to lay the pavement for the new apartment complex that mom and dad were managing. I was entranced with the machinery they were using and the process they went through to make the bumpy, sticky sand, rocks and tar into a smooth, brand-new surface that you could paint with new stripes and park your car on. I watched them for awhile and then had to go tell Mom all about it. "Why don't you write a story about it?" she asked. "No, that's too hard!" I said, but she insisted, and I remember writing down a story about how they laid blacktop on our parking lot.

I wonder if Mom saved that story? And, isn't it funny--I was only six, but that day birthed two things that have become life-long interests of mine--construction, and writing. Hmm. Interesting!!

And, boy, do I love the smell of new asphalt and tar!