272 Signs From the Road of Life (cont.)

I’ve decided that I’ve been mostly serious in these posts for quite long enough, so it’s time to have some fun.  So, I’m going to focus on amusing myself (and, I hope, any readers) by digging into my files to look for lighter, more humorous material for at least the next few posts.  I DO have quite a variety of stuff in my collection, so it’s probably harder to make topic selections than to find material related to them.  Anyway, I hope my selections will be entertaining, even amusing, to others.  I’m planning on enjoying writing them.

​I’ve done a number of past posts based around pictures of signs I have seen, found, or just heard of, and found them to be an enjoyable topic.  However, the titles of those posts have varied quite a lot.  Therefore, I don’t quite know what would be the most appropriate title variation for future posts along the same line.  So, I’m not going to worry about that and just use the title of this post for all future “sign” posts.  The title is the last thing I want to worry about.  Selecting content I really wish to post about is comp;icated enough without getting “tied up” with frivolous detail.

Hence, I intend to use the above title for posts about signs which have turned up along streets, highways, sidewalks, and various “public” places in the future.  That being said, here’s some “signs” which have amused me that I have collected from various sources.

Okay, so that’s a door mat, not a SIGN, but it has writing on it (AND it DOESN’T just say “Welcome” — read the small print).  It is also clearly intended to communicate information one might find useful if one chooses to read it.  I’m going to call it a “sign.”  If you don’t agree with that decision, I don’t care!  I found it both amusing and rather interesting to contemplate!

Now, this NEXT one clearly is a true sign, but it’s an unusual variation on a fairly common, standard theme.  

I can’t speak for others, but I must confess that it makes me wonder what sort of “violation” is being contemplated for the trespassers to which this sign is addressed… and I’m not sure I really want an answer to that question.

This next sign appears to be posted on a schoolyard or a city park fence.  I have to admit that I wonder who would have put it up and exactly what it is intended to convey.  

Now, obviously it’s a variation on the standard “not allowed” road sign, but all I can get from the picture is that witches are not allowed to play basketball (at least on brooms), or they are not supposed to use the basketball backboard and hoop to practice quidditch.  Both seem plausible possibilities, but don’t make a lot of sense, at least to me.  I can’t believe that a basketball goal would be of any real value in practicing quidditch, as the hoop doesn’t really begin to resemble a proper quidditch goal in size or orientation, nor are backboards a part of the quidditch goal setup.  Still, I find it intriguing that the person who installed the sign did seem to acknowledge quidditch’s existence to the point where the sign was deemed necessary.

This next example seems to simply be someone trying politely (and quite cleverly) to encourage the neighborhood dog owners to remove their pets “business” from his/her garden or yard.  It’s pleasant to see such a desire presented in such a pleasant manner, especially in this day and age when one seems to find threats of mass slaughter more common.  As they say, “Good job!”

Some concepts are harder than others to explain on a road sign.  Here’s a sign attempting to deal with a complex idea which is obviously addressed to drivers whom an airplane pilot would say has “no situational awareness.”

I would suggest that the proper response to this sign would be “Duh!,” but when I consider how many drivers I see who don’t seem to have a clue about what’s going on around them, I realize how necessary this sign may well be.

As I think back, I remember Maggi and my trip to England in 2009, where this sign would be right at home, as it’s commonly used.

Yes, we funny Americans call them “speed bumps,” but the British call them “sleeping policemen.”  All things considered, I rather like the British name.

Thinking about England reminds me of the recent death of Elizabeth II.  I confess to having been quite fond of the the care she seemed to show for people and the sense of class she exuded.  I liked her a lot!  However, that just might be because I see a considerable contrast between her and her son, Charles III, whom I think of as seeming to be a bit of a jerk.

Of course, it is possible that that attitude could be the result of a prejudice of mine related to the fact that I have an ancestor who (according to family legend) swung the axe to take off Charles I’s head.  I would suggest that Chas. I was clearly something of a jerk (as was his son, Chas. II) but that’s probably beside the point.  And none of that has anything to do with signs, which brings me back to the image I was introducing, which may not really be a sign, but which I enjoyed a lot.

The world just seems a bit less civilized without the two characters pictured above.

Speaking of characters, how’s THIS for a way to advertise your yard sale?

I will suggest that this sign is probably most likely to attract a “certain sort of person,” but I love it!   If only TV commercials could show just a bit of this creativity and panache.  I get so tired of stupid, repetitive commercials which feature obnoxious, unpleasant people and often (if one thinks about it just a little bit) seem to suggest that the advertisers think their customers are either complete idiots, or just as stupid, obnoxious, and boorish as the characters featured in the ad.  I can’t speak for others, but I do not feel as though I really desire to be seen as resembling many (perhaps most) of the characters portrayed in a lot of advertising either as the salesperson, or as the customer.  If one wants to know why many people either turn off the ads (perhaps the whole program), or just change to a different channel when the ads come on, it just MIGHT be that they don’t like being “talked down to” or having it implied that they are stupid, obnoxious, and boorish.  Perhaps advertisers should consider this.

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with something different.  Until then …

🖖🏼 LLAP,

Dr. B