Martha bridge -- historic or just old?

This died down a year or so ago, and I probably shouldn''t bring it up, but I can't resist.

I was out and about in rural Cabell County working on something for the Sunday editorial page when I saw the old bridge at Martha. The 123-year-old bridge -- once responsible for carrying traffic over the Guyandotte River in Martha -- was closed in 2004 when a new bridge opened.

Some folks want to save the bridge, saying it is historic. The Division of Highways was going to tear it down, then changed its mind. But nothing has been done with the bridge in the meantime, and it continues to rust away.

I didn't get a good sense of the word "historic" until October 1984, when I walked the streets of Jerusalem for the first time. And Bethlehem, Nazareth and Banias. And Amman, Jordan, too. Here in America, something that's 100 years old is considered historic. Over there, it's just getting broken in.

I have no real thoughts on the old Martha bridge as long as no one gets hurt on it while it just sits there. Of course, I hope that never happens. But you never know.

I'm just glad my kids never rode a school bus across it.