周末，我们去了趟世界上最长的山中隧道之一------美国马里兰州的paw paw tunnel。此地离我家大约120miles，单程行车两小时。

走在这950米长的隧道中，仿佛我正从月亮走向太阳，又好像我正踩着当年隧道民工的肩膀在前行。那一刻，我忽然想起了一句诗歌：在黑暗中寻找出口。

这个隧道建于1850年，耗时14年。期间，民工争斗不断，拖欠工资现象非常严重。当时的隧道投资者低估了这个工程的严峻性，待到隧道竣工时，投资方已经破产。

人们常常把大山比做母亲。我站在隧道所在的这座高山前，母亲山的这种感觉特别强烈。我们好像行走在大山母亲的腹中，汲取着她日积月累的天然营养，抚摩着她腹腔肠道内的沟沟坎坎。

小小的隧道内外，竟容纳着山清水秀的美景，偶尔可见水蛇和小鱼在水中游来游去。这座山不禁让我想起了中国的泰山和蓬莱阁。游走于山水之间，这是个多么令人惬意的享受。站在母亲山的面前，人立刻变得非常渺小。

边行边思，一路上我收集了很多大小不一的山石碎块儿。这些碎块儿，仿佛是从大山母亲身上剥离掉的皮肤与肌肉。离开了母亲，它们只能流离失所，不知落到何方。几小时后，当我把这些碎石摆在我的书桌上时，我好像看到了一个走失的孩子。

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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