Holding Tight Off The Mackinac Bridge
On September 22, 1989, Leslie Ann Pluhar drove a
Blue Yugo 190 feet above the Straights of Mackinac
To visit her boyfriend on the other side, but
Gusts of wind took Pluhar over the 3-foot railing
The Yugo--this is what people remember
Yet she, and you and I, and the others
Were sung to, caressed, brought up
Or held tight by a mother all the way
There were five who were building the bridge
Diver Frank Pepper rose too quickly from below
From above, Jack Baker & Robert Koppen
Plunged from a catwalk, first day on the job
26 year old James LeSarge lost his balance
Albert Abbott fell just four feet into water
From the scaffolds of the Mighty Mackinac
To be cut on a plaque at the hungry straights
In the Fall of 1978, in a fog, a private Cesna
Hit a suspension cable, tearing its wings
Sending men from on high into deep
Named Virgil, James and Wayne
With intent, Richard Daraban drove a Bronco
Over the edge at the end of his adolescence
Others jumped; more than a dozen
That we know of. Most were recovered
Zero in on Google Earth for the footings
Made of teeth at the North Shore, where
The Mackinac Bridge Authority will drive
If you are unable, or unwilling, or mad
Because balance is required on the bridge, where
In 1988, Mindy Lou Arnett stopped her Honda
At 2 am, unbuckled her infant daughter, Jersey
And held her tightly all the way
On September 22, 1989, Leslie Ann Pluhar drove a
Blue Yugo 190 feet above the Straights of Mackinac
To visit her boyfriend on the other side, but
Gusts of wind took Pluhar over the 3-foot railing
The Yugo--this is what people remember
Yet she, and you and I, and the others
Were sung to, caressed, brought up
Or held tight by a mother all the way
There were five who were building the bridge
Diver Frank Pepper rose too quickly from below
From above, Jack Baker & Robert Koppen
Plunged from a catwalk, first day on the job
26 year old James LeSarge lost his balance
Albert Abbott fell just four feet into water
From the scaffolds of the Mighty Mackinac
To be cut on a plaque at the hungry straights
In the Fall of 1978, in a fog, a private Cesna
Hit a suspension cable, tearing its wings
Sending men from on high into deep
Named Virgil, James and Wayne
With intent, Richard Daraban drove a Bronco
Over the edge at the end of his adolescence
Others jumped; more than a dozen
That we know of. Most were recovered
Zero in on Google Earth for the footings
Made of teeth at the North Shore, where
The Mackinac Bridge Authority will drive
If you are unable, or unwilling, or mad
Because balance is required on the bridge, where
In 1988, Mindy Lou Arnett stopped her Honda
At 2 am, unbuckled her infant daughter, Jersey
And held her tightly all the way