Batgrl (Book Data Kept Elsewhere) > Recent Status Updates

Mr. Morrow: "You see, the people of the United States are not the only Americans. The 80 million residents of the 21 nations to the south of us are also Americans - Central or South Americans."
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So even though we were in LA mere paragraphs ago, Arizona was deemed too dull to spend more than a sentence on. So now we're in Mexico. With sentences like "As they plodded along" - hey, there's some cartrip realism!

Also when your 9 year old runs into a door and hits his nose it's completely normal to work that into a conversation on how glass is also pre-stressed.

The exciting difference between pre-stressed concrete and concrete that's reinforced is discussed. Because these are the kinds of family conversations that are completely natural when touring LA.

Mr. Morrow: "They've proposed a 'Carveyor' - an overhead pedestrian car system. One reason I wanted to stay here overnight was so we could take a look at an experimental section they've erected."
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Yep, that was a real thing. It was also called Speedwalk, Speedramp, or just People Movers. Disney uses some still in its parks.

Another realism check: Mr. Morrow has navigated around LA while talking about engineering and not gotten 1) lost or 2) confused by the highway signs or 3) gotten stuck in a traffic jam. Also was LA really "the largest in area in the world" in 1958? That seems oddly specific.

Two paragraphs of conversation on what color of grey pavement should be and which has better visibility. And I'll note here that this is a book supposed to get kids interested in engineering. It's more likely to make them fear being trapped in a car with an engineer for hours and having to listen to them lecture.

(OK if you're still curious, he goes on about the study about car accident deaths. Droning on about road deaths while on a roadtrip vacation?! Ugh.)

Words that should never be spoken while on vacation; actually he had it in the first 5 words of this:
"I once read a study conducted by the US Bureau of Public Roads," Mr. Morrow said.
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I don't need to quote any more, it doesn't get more interesting. His wife definitely left him. Yes, it is very sad.

Also this is the most boring description of a really gorgeous coastal CA highway where the views of the ocean are particularly lovely - and the book is going on about road shoulders, highway lighting, and safety on the road in general. It's like this book is actively trying to be dull.

"A spacious parkway of grass and bushes, called a median strip, separated the north and south bound lanes of traffic. Thus, even a reckless, drunken, or sleeping motorist couldn't possibly collide with a car going the other way."
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Um, actually no, medians won't stop that when a car manages to plow right over them. Nice happy thought though.

Mr. Morrow: "Forty thousand people lose their lives every year in traffic accidents - 6,000 more than the number of soldiers killed during the three years of the Korean War! And most of these lives were lost because of inadequate highways!"
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Is this a fun family vacation or what? And again I wonder where mom is. I'm thinking she left him.

Mr. Morrow is now droning on about how there aren't enough roads and that 50 billion dollars needs to be spent to build enough of them across the nation as a whole. And that more roads = better distribution of traffic = less accidents. This reminds me of the films they used to show in drivers ed...

Monterey Coast Highway and, oh boy, another bridge. Which the book notes "stepped over Bixby Creek far below" - but doesn't say that the bridge is named for that creek. This book is odd about which facts it doesn't present - how can you nitter on so much about bridges yet not give the name?

"Randy paddled clumsily over to the ladder and climbed aboard the scaffolding. When they removed his helmet, he was still a little dazed, and the daylight hurt his eyes.
"Some guys have all the luck," he heard his brother say.
Then the tender told him to sit down and breathe deeply. His head cleared...
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Ok, I'm sure a 9 yr old that had to miss out on diving would say more than that.

Randy gets panicked a few times, is disoriented and confused - and not much help from the adults in this (Hank prompts him once), he just figures out whether to add air or release it. This doesn't sound like any of the diving I've ever read about, with multiple safety checks (both visual and by audio).

Also besides the fact that Randy woke his brother up, there's no indication as to what Mr. Morrow has done with his 9 yr old son. Hopefully he's somewhere on the boat and not alone back in the truck.

"There's an air control valvue on your chest," he said, and placed Randy's hand on it. "If your ears pop on the way down, turn it to the left. That will let in more air. Got it?"
"Sure."
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That's all as far as the training the kid is getting.

So wait, your 15 year old has never been diving before. Everyone is noting that it's dangerous, and you're getting in a suit like this: (photo of illustration in my review, scroll down)). This seems like a BAD idea.

Did I mention that the family is sleeping in bunks in the back of the truck they're driving? Now they wake up at 4am because bridge engineers wake up early when they need to go diving. And while Randy is getting to go along, Sam is only 9 and too small for a suit. And hey, they eat breakfast - only not much because it can give you cramps when diving.

As far as I can tell the Morrows and Hank just spent all day on a boat watching concrete being poured into a caisson until it sunk. But watching concrete pour. All day. Randy has enjoyed it so much that he didn't notice it was growing dark and time to leave. Randy is 15 yrs old. I am doubtful. And again, no one ever needs to eat.

Mr. Morrow's engineer friend is named Hank Swambat. Yes really. And he's apparently working on the Southern Crossing - except from the info on the wiki page I can't figure out how that can be - it's just a proposed construction.

"Yes, they're planning to connect the southern end of San Francisco with the city of Alameda. That's where the surprise is. I've arranged it so we can watch them get started."
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Dad's surprise - bridge building, up close and personal! I will bet the boys find more engineers to ask questions of.

"...they came to the city of San Rafael.
"Oh, not another bridge!" Sam groaned.
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He's afraid his dad is going to share more bridge knowledge. Also none of these people ever seem to eat anything.

...and he knows all about the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge too. Sigh.

As we enter San Francisco it becomes clear that Mr. Morrow has memorized all the bridge stats, dates, and history about the Golden Gate. Also at this point I've noticed that his sons usually speak in questions - statements are rare. Though there is one at the bottom of this page, when Sam is surprised that the engineers didn't quit building after storms wrecked the bridge in the 1930s.

Strangers will answer all questions a little boy may ask them, even if it means taking time away from a job the state is paying them to do.

"I understand the first bridge here was a champion swayer," Mr. Morrow said.
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And the less Mr. Morrow talks the better. Meanwhile the camera guys just happen to be the same ones who caught the footage of the first bridge collapsing. What are the odds?!

"As the Morrows talked, a pair of men wearing open jackets and sport shirts walked down the bank and began setting up a movie camera on a tripod. Mr. Morrow moved closer. Expecting anything to happen?" the science writer asked."
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An odd moment for the book's author to care about what people are wearing.

After safely crossing Gertie the Second (bridge rebuilt after the first Gertie broke), they pull off the highway in order to go down by the water and look at the bridge from the side. In order to leisurely discuss bridge cables and suspenders of course. And note that engineers "have to study so much math" for bridge related problems like weight support and cable tension.

(The Galloping Gertie bit is long enough so that I'll put it in the longer review.)