Back in 1970 there was a song. Yes, I realize some of you weren’t even born then and you might not be familiar with this song. Please, indulge me.
The band known as the Five Man Electrical Band recorded a song called Signs. The chorus of the song went something like this:
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?
I don’t know the story behind this song, but it came to mind the past couple of days as I drove around town.
First, there are the helpful arrows. These tell us which way to go and they don’t give us any choices or options. Whenever you drive down a street with these kinds of arrows, you not only know that the road curves, but you also know that you are traveling in the correct direction. I see this. I breathe a sigh of relief and then slow down to the posted speed limit.
Other arrows are a bit more confusing. Take these examples:
As you can see, the Exit sign confused me so much that I couldn’t even take a picture that was in focus. If the building is burning, which way do I go? Or do I risk burning up, because I can’t decide between right or left. I need more specific instructions.
Other arrows can be very context specific:
In the Center Lane example, it appears as though that is the lane you want to be in to turn sharply to avoid a head-on collision. Apparently, this is a confusing sign, because very few people use the center lane as a turn lane and hold up traffic when they turn from the outer lanes. I find this quite annoying. The example with the squiggly arrow is alerting to me that the path ahead is not straight. Kinda a philosophical viewpoint for life, don’t you think?
Signs in parking garages can be quite bossy:
I find that most of the time “Management” never likes to be liable for things like theft or damage. If you need a reminder not to leave your new purchases, laptop or phone in plain view in your car, then maybe you shouldn’t live in a big city.
Since I drive a small car, I like the designations for compact car parking. At what point do pickup truck drivers think they are fooling anyone when they park in one of these spots? Maybe they just think that if they drive a big pickup truck in Texas, they have the right to park anywhere they want. Those folks just need to know that those of us with small cars and not thinking nice thoughts about them.
I have no idea why one can’t idle in a car for more than five minutes. If you have any idea, please let me know.
Finally, there are small signs that give us grave warnings, Harry Potter!
Have you ever noticed how many of these are in any given neighborhood? Don’t stop to think about how much stuff is buried under ground. You won’t be able to sleep at night. I promise I will do all of the worrying for you.
What signs do you see during the day?
Until next week.….
