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The Middle of the Road Perspective from a middle-aged, middle-income, middle-school teacher By Randy Peters A friend recently told me, "We're not over the hill. We are on top of the hill, and there's a great view from here!" Being in the middle of the road is kind of like being perched on top of that hill. It's too late to go back, but there is a lot of asphalt still in front of me. In driving school, my behind-thewheel driving instructor told me that you have to decide when you are in the middle of the road and looking to cross an intersection, you have to figure out your point of no return and press the gas pedal and get through the intersection. I am at that intersection in the middle of the road. I'm at the point of no return and am pushing hard on the gas so I can make it through the intersection before the light changes. Being in the middle of the road means that I have completed some road trips and even burned some rubber in the past, but I'm certainly not ready to put it in park. My journey brought me to Yucaipa. I've been involved with Yucaipa for 30 years. I moved here when I was 24 and landed my first teaching job. (Some of you are doing some math now. Yes, I'm 54.) I was given some advice and heard some interesting stories about Yucaipa. 10 OUR YUCAIPA | AUGUST 2013 • This is the land of newlyweds and nearly deads. • People retire in Hemet. Their parents move to Yucaipa. • Beware of the flies. They are Yucaipa's air force. • Have allergy medicine close by when the acres and acres of orange trees blossom. • A gentleman told me shortly after I came to Yucaipa that he remembers rolling a bowling ball down the boulevard from Flag Hill Park. He did it just after dusk when he was sure nothing and no one would be there. The ball didn't hit a thing as it rolled west. • A colleague went home from work one day to find the neighbor's pigs rooting in her front yard. • I was told not to build a house in the wash because it had been almost 50 years since the last flood and we were due for one anytime. • Beware of the traffic on homecoming day every year. The parade down The Boulevard shuts down the town. During the last three decades, I've been witness to a lot of road changes in Yucaipa. For example, it was big news when the first traffic light went in that wasn't on The Boulevard. (And those who have lived here a good amount of time call it The Boulevard. It's what separates us from the new kids on the block). Lives and personal habits changed when the roads were uprooted as underground sewer lines went into parts of Yucaipa that relied on septic tanks for generations. Avenue F was redirected, split, and eventually removed from our street alphabet. You lost the chance to have your stomach leap into your chest when the "dip" was taken out of Oak Glen Road taking the fun out of a lot of road trips. Of course, the round-abouts have added new meaning to teaching us old dogs some new tricks on the road. If you remember some of these changes, you, too, may be in the middle of the road in Yucaipa. If you have stories about life before these changes… you may be past the middle and ready for some resurfacing. I'm not quite sure where the road will take me from here, but I know it will be nearby. Yucaipa has become my home town. Not only do I have family here, but I have friends, colleagues, and associates who have made my life richer, better, and more challenging than I ever thought possible. Keep your eyes on the road…