Joe Irwin has some insightful, and even touching, comments to close out the extremely helpful Hood Canal Bridge blog, which kept us all up to date during the bridge closure:
Just the other day, I was reading through the Hood Canal Bridge Blog comments posted during 20-cycle tests that eventually led up to the June 3 reopening and – before I knew it – I found my heart racing and an all-too-familiar itch to post an update.
It’s been more than a month since we reopened the bridge and I was quite honestly surprised at my reaction. I was also very encouraged.
The HCB blog was pretty unique because it truly seemed remind people something that many tend to forget – the government is comprised of people just like you. (Gasp!) No, it’s true, really. It allowed us to do away with some of the stodgy overtones and just chat. While this is the nature of blogs, I felt there was a real connection that went beyond cyberspace and the keyboard – for me at least.
More than once, I’d get an update at a meeting or on the phone and say something like, “I’ve got to get this to my people.” “My people” being those who were relying on the blog for the latest project information, and chiming in with questions and comments.
