Monday, June 08, 2009
AT bridge in Botetourt was built for more than hikers
Tom Angleberger
The New River Valley-based reporter answers your questions Mondays in his column, What's on Your Mind?
Recent columns
Q: There is a concrete bridge on the Appalachian Trail about half a mile west of U.S. 220 in Botetourt County. The bridge was definitely not built as a pedestrian bridge; it looks like one you would see on a well-traveled two-lane road. Why is this bridge located in the middle of nowhere?
Matt Clark, Cloverdale
A: Charles Parry, the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club's trail supervisor, was able to tell me a little bit about this bridge, which takes hikers across Tinker Creek.
You're right; it's much bigger than hikers need. Parry estimated it at 25 to 30 feet wide. As you have guessed, it was planned for cars, not people.
"The bridge was built by the previous owner, who was planning to develop the land," Parry told me. That development didn't happen, and the National Park Service bought the land about 25 years ago.
In addition to the bridge, the land also had a sewage lagoon at one point. But Parry told me that it has long since been planted over with pine trees.
All in all, it seems like things have worked out for the best, both for hikers and the creek.
Q: What is the difference in jam, jelly and preserves? I always see grape jelly, but strawberry jam! Why not the reverse?
Mike Hamlin, Ironto
A: I first learned the difference from one of those sweet little old ladies who knows how to go from picking berries off the bush to cooking up jam and jelly on the kitchen stove. However, since she wasn't handy when I wrote this, I got the official word from the jelly and jam manufacturer Smucker's.
Jelly is made from fruit juice, hence the clarity and uniform consistency. Jam is made from smushed-up fruit, hence the, er, smushed-up fruit.
Preserves are also made with fruit that has been smushed up, but with less smushing.
n n n
Last week, I wrote about the big bucks that schools get from the Virginia Lottery.
Some readers thought I was reinforcing a misconception.
"What people do not know is that the schools do not receive the lottery money as extra money," wrote Bonnie Hartman. "When Roanoke County receives $19 million from the lottery fund, that money replaces $19 million that the state of Virginia would have given."
Reader Al Nichols made the same point and followed it up with this: "The public should not be misled to think they are directly helping education when buying that lottery ticket."
Grammar Grumblings
Why do people have to insert the word "for" in almost every statement? Example: I would like for you to go to the store. "For" is not necessary and the statement should be: I would like you to go to the store.
Ellie Feist, Rocky Mount
The 'for' may sound unnecessary to you, but our Grammar Guru hears it differently.
"I think that English idiom requires 'for,' " explained retired English professor Virgil Cook. Dropping the "for" may not break a rule, he notes, but he finds it to be awkward.
Speaking of awkward, I think it's clear that I am not a grammar guru. In fact, I'm a grammar disaster. Last week, though, I pulled a real bonehead move, by mixing up 'i.e.' and 'e.g.' It wouldn't be such a big deal if I hadn't previously written a column item about the difference.
Got a question? Got an answer? Call Tom Angleberger at 777-6476 or send an e-mail to tom angleberger@yahoo.com. Don't forget to provide your full name, its proper spelling and your hometown.
Look for Tom Angleberger's column on Mondays.
