周末，我們去了趟世界上最長的山中隧道之一------美國馬裏蘭州的paw paw tunnel。此地離我家大約120miles，單程行車兩小時。
走在這950米長的隧道中，仿佛我正從月亮走向太陽，又好像我正踩著當年隧道民工的肩膀在前行。那一刻，我忽然想起了一句詩歌：在黑暗中尋找出口。
這個隧道建於1850年，耗時14年。期間，民工爭鬥不斷，拖欠工資現象非常嚴重。當時的隧道投資者低估了這個工程的嚴峻性，待到隧道竣工時，投資方已經破產。
人們常常把大山比做母親。我站在隧道所在的這座高山前，母親山的這種感覺特別強烈。我們好像行走在大山母親的腹中，汲取著她日積月累的天然營養，撫摩著她腹腔腸道內的溝溝坎坎。
小小的隧道內外，竟容納著山清水秀的美景，偶爾可見水蛇和小魚在水中遊來遊去。這座山不禁讓我想起了中國的泰山和蓬萊閣。遊走於山水之間，這是個多麽令人愜意的享受。站在母親山的麵前，人立刻變得非常渺小。
邊行邊思，一路上我收集了很多大小不一的山石碎塊兒。這些碎塊兒，仿佛是從大山母親身上剝離掉的皮膚與肌肉。離開了母親，它們隻能流離失所，不知落到何方。幾小時後，當我把這些碎石擺在我的書桌上時，我好像看到了一個走失的孩子。
The Paw Paw Tunnel is a 3,118 feet (950 m) long canal tunnel in Maryland on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which was built to bypass the Paw-Paw bends, a six-mile stretch of the Potomac River containing five horseshoe bends. Construction on the tunnel began in 1836, and the tunnel was not completed until 1850. Although it was originally planned to be completed in two years, there were many difficulties in the process of construction. The construction company seriously underestimated the difficulty of the job. Violence frequently broke out between various gangs of immigrant laborers of different ethnicities, and wages were often unpaid due to the company's financial problems.[1] The tunnel was finally completed with a cost overrun of 500%. Though surpassed by many tunnels today, it remains one of the world's longest canal tunnels and was one of the greatest engineering feats of its day.
The nearby town of Paw Paw, West Virginia and the tunnel take their common name from the pawpaw trees that grow prolifically along nearby ridges.
5/17/10 11：08PM
