What does development have to do with eggs?

I live in a construction zone. When I first moved in, it was so beautiful and peaceful here on the outskirts of town. Now, it is anything but. It is noisy, dusty when it isn't completely muddy, there are construction workers everywhere, and there is no road or side of the road that is safe to walk on. C'est grave.

But what does this have to do with eggs? In all my bitching about how horrible my life is here in Ebolowa since construction (or, let me start with the destruction that is on-going) started, my neighbor reminded me that you have to crack eggs to get omelets. So, assuming that omelets are better than eggs (which they are if you are talking about a spinach and cheddar cheese omelet), I will just have to be patient to have something better. But will Ebolowa post-construction be better than Ebolowa pre-construction? Are omelets always better than eggs? Do you not loose a little egg when you try to make omelets?

Most of city preparation has been in destroying temporary structures. This means I no longer know where to find things like clothes and other random household items. This also means people are being kicked out of their homes that are next to the road. Walls, houses, and stores are being torn down. It looks like a war zone. The x's being spray painted on structures are like the death sentences for trees in a thinning operation in a forest. People, including children, are spending time breaking rock that is being quarried out into gravel. Sometimes they use hammers, sometimes they use bigger rocks. Wetlands where people used to fish are being controlled with manipulation of clay, earth, and tunnels. It seems like this work will never finish.

And what will we have after all of this is over? A road that is wider and smoother than the road to Yaounde, more urban sprawl caused by increasing populations and displaced people, more expensive stores because they are in permanent structures, probably more wealth, but definitely more pronounced poverty. Do I really need these omelets? All I really need is my water to be working again, because I am tired of fetching water, and some peace and quiet.