We’re not really sure how to start this post, so perhaps we shall just go with the first things that come to mind:

*Massive sympathy to everyone directly affected by the bridge collapse last night. It’s so obvious it goes without saying, but it needs to be said anyway.

*The most eerie and frightening part of all this, we imagine, is that virtually everyone who lives in the Twin Cities — maybe even the state of Minnesota — has traveled that bridge countless times without a second thought. We don’t go over it much anymore because it’s not in our direct line of work-to-home travel, but we used to cross it twice daily and we were a mile south of it on 35W about 15 minutes before it happened. And there are countless closer calls than that. Dave MN, for instance, already commented about his boss being two car lengths away from being crushed underneath the bridge yesterday.

*It was strangely fascinating to see the technology era during a tragedy. We had at least 10-15 cell phone calls or text messages by 8 p.m.; instead of watching on TV last night, we followed the news on the Internet. At 10 p.m., we asked the RandBall Better Half how many people in the metro area likely knew about the collapse. She guessed 80 percent. We’re guessing it was much higher.

*Discussion questions: 1) Were the Twins correct in playing on last night? We have mixed feelings. From an infrastructure point of view, we say yes. Sending a decent-sized crowd out into fresh chaos only would have added to the problem. But it did seem very strange to have a game going on while deaths were being confirmed blocks away. Not saying it was wrong; just saying it didn’t feel right. 2) The Twins postponed today’s game; should they do the same thing Friday to give this situation some time to clear out? Maybe play a doubleheader Saturday or Sunday? 3) Generally speaking, do you think sports should continue as a distraction for those who need it or defer to bigger events like this? 4) How’s everyone doing? Feel free to share any stories, concerns, etc., that you have.

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