Bridging the Gap in Your Armani Blazer

Having circulated within the South Carolina lowcountry for more than a few model years, we've become familiar with and enchanted by bridges of all sizes and types. The dramatic ones such as the new Arthur Ravenel, Jr., bridge which connects peninsula Charleston with Mt. Pleasant, SC and the two remarkable ones which it replaced get all the notice. We like to find small interesting bridges which are either old enough to be quaint and dangerous or new ones of intriguing design.

We found two in Beaufort County near Bluffton, SC, recently. The first one has a coated steel decking with openings wide enough to swallow an average sized foot. Certainly this aids in the immediate draining of the deck, but it may also be helpful in preventing deer and perhaps other creatures from wandering into the town center of an exclusive and very expensive gated community. It acts in the same way the old cattle guards would prevent the wandering off of livestock This is the bridge into Palmetto Bluff, a community so well planned that it may have bred its very own animals and thus wish to prevent their escape.

Our second find was a wooden decked bridge with rather elaborate steel superstructure. It is certainly functional, but it is decidedly form as well. What we noticed were the two separate decks outboard of the vehicle thoroughfare of the bridge. One deck appears to be for bikes and pedestrians while the other seems more like a gazing platform from which people might observe the natural beauty of the site. It may also be for fishing of all things. We notice now that almost every nice short bridge which had raised paved sidewalks no longer allows fishing from those area for which it was designed. Perhaps it's fear of litigation. After a few fisherfolk get launched from these bridges by careless drivers, the TV lawyers cannot be far behind.

We don't exactly see Tom Sawyer types fishing from this bridge with old cane poles. Considering the high tone of this gated community it's possible that there's a dress code required for fishing. There well may be an Armani Fishing Blazer fitted with the club brassard which is specified for this area, who knows? There does, however, seem to be some concession to the humble pastime of fishing from a bridge. Even if that's not openly admitted or may require membership, it is at least a step in the right direction