The interior side of the door needed painting to match the other doors in our house (a tasteful café au lait color).
Off went my husband to get paint. It’s not that I can’t buy paint or paint doors, but in my opinion, this is exactly what capable husbands take care of on three-day weekends.
(If you want to know what capable wives take care of on three-day weekends, feel free to side email me for my list.) …
Well, what do you know. Though the paint was supposed to match the other doors in our house — it did not. Therefore, the closet door less than a foot away also had to be painted. …
We live in Yigo in Perez Acres which fronts onto Chalan Lajuna. We moved into Yigo in 1998, months before the Pay-less Supermarket opened, and the village has grown. At some point, Chalan Lajuna was paved, and the road became a cut through from Route 15 to Marine Corps Drive with frequent traffic. In 2011 a traffic light was installed on the corner of Chalan Lajuna and Marine Drive. The intersection is safer, but Chalan Lajuna has never been the same since.
When it rains (and boy, how it’s rained lately) the corner adjacent to Yigo McDonalds floods and we now have a significant pothole. Most of us in the village know to avoid the standing water, though I’ve seen trucks bounce through it. You can see a photo of the corner on the front page. …
I called Mayor Sanchez, as somebody has repeatedly tried to fix the corner, and I was told it was him. Mayor Sanchez and I spoke for 25 minutes. The mayor knows all about Chalan Lajuna’s pothole. He’s the recipient of plenty of complaints about it. Mayor Sanchez has bought a personal “mini dump truck” with his own money to fix Chalan Lajuna from time to time and similar issues with other roads in the village. The Chalan Lajuna pothole is not the only pothole in Yigo, but then what I am talking about is now the grandaddy of all potholes.
At some point before the election, as a resident of Yigo, we received a list of road work that would be taking place in Yigo. Chalan Lajuna (and its pothole) was not on it. …
I do know that wherever you are reading us in Guam, the other islands, corporate America, the Pacific Rim, or Europe — there are potholes. I’ve driven roads around the world with potholes and survived without bottoming out. According to Lending Tree’s Quote Wizard Nashville, Tenn. ranked No. 1 in November among all U.S. states and most major cities for most prevalent potholes. The average repair bill (stateside) for potholes is $306. …
Managing Editor Oya Ngirairikl edited this column. Her comment was, “Nice. Pothole stories are popular.” Enjoy.
And if you have a pothole photo you’d like to share please do send it in to
managingeditor@glimpsesofguam.com together with its location, it’s longevity if you know it and any (polite) comments. If your mayor or civic leader is trying to fix the potholes in your jurisdiction as diligently as Yigo’s mayor, be sure to give us their name. …
Meanwhile, as we enter 2023, I aim to focus for personal satisfaction on our new front door, and not Yigo’s potholes. ...
— Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Publications at Glimpses Media include the Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, The Real Estate Journal, Guam Business Magazine, Beach Road Magazine, Buenas and Drive Guam.