Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Signs








There are lots of signs of various descriptions in Mathews County, and one of the most commonly seen is the No Trespassing sign.  I confess to being simultaneously intimidated and challenged whenever I see one of these signs.

For example, above, the sign partners with the closed gate to say very definitively: No.

But, below, upon closer inspection of what's happening on the left, the sign seems to beg to be challenged.  "I'm trying to say stay out, but if you just step over here, there's nothing holding you back except a little swamp mud."  (And your conscience.)

Not that I would ever disobey a sign.  I'm just telling you what goes through my mind when I see things like this. My mind is a frightening place, especially when I'm exhausted--as happens to be the case tonight.















Then you have your road signs that clearly mean well--with the best of intentions--but have been tampered with and rendered absolutely useless.

For example, this sign seems to say, "Watch out!  It's 15 miles per hour as you leave the roadway, venture into the ditch, back up for a moment, and then take off into flight at a 45-degree angle."






Even though it's only Tuesday as I write this, I feel like I've been working for forty thousand days straight.

There's lots going on (my workload is doubling; my commute remains an hour each way; I need to buy a new car and a new refrigerator but have no time to research either, Daughter's basketball season is underway, which means multiple games per week after that commute from work; Daughter is ramping up for the college application process next year; Son will be undergoing another major surgery next month to reverse a procedure done two years ago; Thanksgiving and Christmas are breathing down my neck; and nothing in my house seems to be working-- for example).  

As I do from time to time, I may cut back on blogging until things level out.  I'll post here and there as time permits but not on any fixed schedule.

Also, if you will, can you tell me how that last sign could possibly have been bent in that direction? Did a speedboat in the ditch hit it?  Did the people cutting grass just decide to back up and push it this way? Or did they cut it facing traffic and just completely disregard the sign?  How do you not notice a sign like this if your job is cutting the grass roadside?

It's questions like these that keep me amused.

For hours.

I look forward to hearing your theories.












4 comments:

Anonymous said...

As for the sign... I think that since it's in Mathews, it would be obvious. Someone threw a beer bottle at it, out of the window of a fast moving vehicle, and missed low (hitting the post).

Why don't you take the sign and hang it in your living room; there's a precedent, you know. Maybe it will help you slow down a bit; or, a least create the false perception that things are not moving so fast after all.

Thanks for posting... it brightens the day.

FC

Anonymous said...

I do like the "speedboat in the ditch" theory. Maybe one of those fancy radio-controlled ones that they use to take the place of full sized boats that they are going to blow up in the movies.

A more practical possibility is that the bottom of the sign post is rotten and the wind caught the sign and tipped it over.

Like your previous commenter, FC, your posts brighten my day as well. If you need a consultation on the refrigerator, my son-in-law sells appliances and could give tips on the best kind.

Your (very distant) cousin in California

Marti

Bob Braxton said...

deer crossing - or bald eagle carrying off a deer - or bicycle collision.

Anonymous said...

You have a lot on your plate, young lady, and it's still a week yet until Thanksgiving ! I am sorry to hear about the nee for your son to undergo surgery again...cannot believe that was 2 years ago.
Where is Oprah when we need her to do another car giveaway for us ? I need another one, too. (My wish for you is a chauffer, preferably cute & in a kilt....hmmm--business idea : a luxury car service for ladies who would appreciate a bonny male drver dressed in a kilt.) I think that is a can't miss concept....
LLC