Signs of the Times
I love road signs. Not the plain everyday ones like ‘Stop’ and ‘Yield’ but the more esoteric ones that are specific to an area. Going towards San Diego you will see a sign that is similar to ‘Deer Crossing’ but it has two adults and a child running hand in hand across the freeway. A few miles down the road you will see the same sign again, but the people are going the other direction. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t need a sign to tell me not to hit something with my car. If a deer, a cow or a family of four are in my field of vision, I’m going to swerve slightly to the left. If there are any drivers out there who need this reminder, maybe it’s time to take away their license.
The Adopt a Highway signs are also funny. Someone paid X amount to tell the world that they kicked in to have trash picked up on a stretch of pavement. How does this work? Does a corporation come up to the Highway Adoption Agency and all the strips of highway come running up to the front looking as cute as they can be, just hoping to get the corporations attention? If the highway looks neglected, can you call Child Welfare? Who cleans the un-adopted areas or are the left alone?
But the reason for my ranting today is a sign I saw on the road to Arizona. About halfway out there I come across two signs. The top one is the standard green with white lettering and says ‘State Prison’. The lower sign was a yellow warning sign with black letters telling drivers: ‘Don’t Pick Up Hitchhikers’. Is this sign really necessary? I think the ‘State Prison’ thing is enough of a heads up. And who picks up hitchhikers anymore? What happened around there that made them put up the sign. Did someone actually stop? “Hey Virgil, see that guy on the side of the road in the orange jumpsuit with the numbers on the back?” “Yeah Clem, I see him.” “He looks like he needs a ride, lets pick him up. He can ride in the back with the shotguns and ammo.”
I understand that we have to do things for the lowest common denominator, but come on… if we set the standards just a little higher I think we might like the results… maybe a little less traffic at least.
I love road signs. Not the plain everyday ones like ‘Stop’ and ‘Yield’ but the more esoteric ones that are specific to an area. Going towards San Diego you will see a sign that is similar to ‘Deer Crossing’ but it has two adults and a child running hand in hand across the freeway. A few miles down the road you will see the same sign again, but the people are going the other direction. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t need a sign to tell me not to hit something with my car. If a deer, a cow or a family of four are in my field of vision, I’m going to swerve slightly to the left. If there are any drivers out there who need this reminder, maybe it’s time to take away their license.
The Adopt a Highway signs are also funny. Someone paid X amount to tell the world that they kicked in to have trash picked up on a stretch of pavement. How does this work? Does a corporation come up to the Highway Adoption Agency and all the strips of highway come running up to the front looking as cute as they can be, just hoping to get the corporations attention? If the highway looks neglected, can you call Child Welfare? Who cleans the un-adopted areas or are the left alone?
But the reason for my ranting today is a sign I saw on the road to Arizona. About halfway out there I come across two signs. The top one is the standard green with white lettering and says ‘State Prison’. The lower sign was a yellow warning sign with black letters telling drivers: ‘Don’t Pick Up Hitchhikers’. Is this sign really necessary? I think the ‘State Prison’ thing is enough of a heads up. And who picks up hitchhikers anymore? What happened around there that made them put up the sign. Did someone actually stop? “Hey Virgil, see that guy on the side of the road in the orange jumpsuit with the numbers on the back?” “Yeah Clem, I see him.” “He looks like he needs a ride, lets pick him up. He can ride in the back with the shotguns and ammo.”
I understand that we have to do things for the lowest common denominator, but come on… if we set the standards just a little higher I think we might like the results… maybe a little less traffic at least.
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