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Everyone needs a hobby. Photography has been both my vocation and my
avocation for many years now. I've got to publicly confess, however, that
within my serious photographic work I've been a closet sign junky all along.
That's right, my hobby is photographing signs that strike me as weird and
funny. I've been doing this on all my travels for about as long as I've
used a camera and now I have quite a collection. What to do with all these
pictures? Following is the very first showing I've ever done.
Some national parks have great signs put up by the U.S. Park Service itself.
Witness this one in Everglades National Park:
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You can't miss that sign as you drive the main road through the Everglades,
but what about this one at the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National
Park. It's a tiny little sign, just a few inches across, posted right down
on the dirt just at ground squirrel eye level.
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The US National Park Service isn't alone in posting signs. I found this one
in Masai Mara, Kenya.
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Try as I might, I just couldn't find any grass around anywhere. Oh
well...if you find the grass it's probably a good idea to keep off of it.
Some businesses have rather unique names. In Iowa I found the:
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Luckily I didn't need their services. And since I've lost most of my hair I
did not have to stop at this place in Tucson:
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But at least that business has an attitude, in comparison to this company in
Michigan:
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You never can tell when you'll find a great sign. While driving in
Louisiana, Joe and I saw this street. We actually turned our car around and
drove back to take some pictures. Wouldn't this address look great on your
letterhead?
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Other street signs make a comment. Here's a side street in central
Michigan:
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Other street signs make an unintended statement. Read these from
Washington:
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Some signs are just too enigmatic as far as I'm concerned. What in the
world does this mean?
OK, there are "YES permits" but I never did discover if there were also "NO
permits."
Other signs make unintentional suggestions. Here's a sign on the Tamiami
Trail, on the way to the Everglades.
I would sure hate to find one of those in my glass of pilsner, wouldn't you?
Gives me the creeps, to say the least.
In Boring, Oregon (yep, that's the name of the place) I discovered another
activity that worms do.
Meanwhile, in California a store was not cowed. It proudly steered
customers to a sale item.
And then there are signs whose logic escapes me altogether. What's behind
this statement?
Of course, sometimes there are items advertised in a rather unique fashion.
Why would you want to buy any of this?
A sign in a Wyoming laundromat came right to the point.
And finally here's a sign posted in a hotel in Kenya. I had stopped there
for a break — trust me, I had no plans for staying at the place — and this
was posted next to the registration desk. Really makes you want to check
in.
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