As you might know, I live in Minneapolis, not far from the 35W bridge that collapsed at 6 p.m. tonight.
My husband Dan had meetings downtown today, and he crossed that bridge on his way home at 5:30. That’s shocking to me, but he doesn’t seem fazed by it at all. I asked him, “Do you feel like you had a close call?” “Not really,” he said.
After Dan got home, we took the kids to the beach near our house. A woman walked by and said, “Did you hear the news?” We hadn’t heard. I drove home to watch TV, and a few minutes later Dan called to say that the beach itself was being closed. Our best guess is that because of the collapse, there were no crews on standby for any other emergencies, so they simply wanted everyone to go home.
I pulled a tarot card, asking, “Is there anyone who’s responsible for the bridge collapse?” I drew the Ace of Cups. I noticed the hand holding streams of water; if I had to guess, I would interpret the card to mean that the construction crews on the bridge at the time somehow let the work get out of hand. A local news channel reported that there were 20 construction workers on site at the time. Dan theorizes that excessive jackhammer vibrations could have set the bridge moving in such a way that it collapsed. He described how marching armies used to have to measure their steps when they crossed bridges, so they didn’t make them shake too much. Once a bridge starts moving back and forth or up and down in a regular pattern, apparently, it’s in real danger.
Of course, some eyewitnesses were reporting explosions just before the collapse. Obviously, the sheer force of the collapse would seem explosive, but if it turns out that terrorists were single-handedly responsible — another interpretation for that giant hand in the Ace of Cups — I am going to be absolutely filled with wrath.
Everything I’m writing, however, is mere speculation at this point. We’re all just stunned, and we’re watching TV along with everyone else right now.
