Category Archives: road signs

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6-and-a-half-avenue

I love New York. And I equally love the ish of life. As I was parking my car today I came across this street sign. Who knew 6th Avenue had an ish… a half. A sort of in between 6th and 7th sort of street that had no purpose other than to install a stop sign (yes, a stop sign in the middle of a midtown cross street!). You know, because as the sign says, it is a Pedestrian Arcade. Really? I saw no such arcade. A lovely little restaurant with a Quinoa Bar but no arcade that I could see. A little space between 2 buildings with some cement seating and potted trees. But an arcade? Nah.

Nonetheless, the existence of a halfavenue that I never knew about made me realize that every day has a little surprise if you look.

NYC trivia… name the street this is on. (no prizes other than being able to boast about what a New Yorker you are).

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Filed under absurdities, New York, New York City, road signs, signage

Send in the Clowns

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I can’t help but think that dozens of clowns will come racing out of this truck when they lift the back up. I did not underestimate the creepiness of this vehicle.

Once again, poor Gary was urged to ‘catch up to that truck’ so I could get this shot. This is usually when he weighs in on whether it is funny or not.

A focus group of one.

When he decides what I am after is not funny enough I respond with, “fine, get your own damn blog.”

And he still makes sure I get the shot.

The man is a saint.

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Filed under carry a camera, humor, photography, road signs, road trip, signage

I Bet You Wished

I am pretty sure this stuff gets put in front of me intentionally. Perhaps because I have a keen sensitivity to it and pay attention. I live so much of my life – both personal and professional – elbow deep in the details. That is probably why I cannot help but see this stuff. This one was actually spotted from the back seat by my daughter. The fact that my kids get this stuff and notice them is my single greatest parenting achievement (a close second is the fact that they love a good bathroom joke).

I have written about the wisdom of the universe before. In love, in artmore than once – and of course in regards to plumbing and feminine hygiene products. As you all know, that last one is something that has plagued the masses for decades.

This one? It is actually a billboard! We passed it on the way home from Brooklyn the other night. I don’t even remember where it was, but I will take a guess and say somewhere on the BQE (and no worries, I was not driving).

So here is the thing – how many tens of thousands of people pass this sign every day? This is a big commuter corridor, after all. It is going east so I am going to say most people see it on their way home at the end of the day. Does anyone actually SEE it? Do they read it and think, hmmmm, what DO I wish? What do I wish so much that someone would bet on it? And based on the tense of the sentence, what do I wish I had done in the past? Maybe you are a grammar and punctuation junkie (cough, cough, Shelly Kramer), and you wonder why there is no question mark at the end of the sentence. Or you might think, hey, is this a real billboard or graffiti? Or damn, I need to get my phone out fast and take a picture of this one (that would be all you Amytypes out there). I worry that too many people – probably the majority – pay it no mind at all. Which is the whole point of this post.

On this beautiful Sunday morning, on the back nine of the summer (that’s for all my golf peops), I would like you all to ponder what you wish today. Make it a good one. And I would be honored if you would be so kind as to share that wish… because that BS about it not coming true if you share it is old school.

What is a wish if not to share?

Happy Sunday everyone!

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Filed under carry a camera, graffiti, road signs, signage

Pet Toilets

This one comes from my dear friend Dani. She posted it on facebook and I knew she had me in mind. This is at South of the Border (where else?). I wonder if it is just an open field or if they have set up something cute with dividers. You know, to give the furry little creatures some privacy.

I have always been amused by the JFK Airport Pet Relief Area sign. I googled it and found this picture. You have to love the fire hydrant in the middle. To make them feel less self conscious and more at home, I suppose.

FYI, Philadelphia has 7 pet relief areas at their airport. So I am guessing that when you fly through there you best be carrying a second pair of shoes,just in case.

I know what you are thinking. Only I could write a whole post about pet toileting. Yeh well, it amuses me, what can I say?

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Filed under absurdities, humor, pets, road signs, road trip, signage

Move Over Law?

If you have been driving on a highway lately you might have noticed the latest alert on the road signs:

New Law. Move over for stopped emergency vehicles.

Does this not see obvious? Call me crazy, but do people opt to slam into the back of a stopped vehicle as opposed to moving over? To the point where a law had to be passed?!

I saw this on the road a few times and wondered… what the hell? I did not think about it much till someone brought it up to me today out of the blue, “Hey, Amy, I know you are the type to ponder this sort of thing. Have you seen those new signs on the highway? New Law…” at this moment we both said it together, “Move over for stopped emergency vehicles.”  What does that MEAN?! Throughout the rest of the evening I asked a few more people who also did not get it. Some thought it meant to move to the right when you see an emergency vehicle in your rear view but the sign specifically says stopped emergency vehicles. And that the move to the right thing is surely not a new law… it is on the permit test for G-d’s sake!

Ok, you know I could not leave that one alone. So I googled it. And yikes! How did we not have this law sooner. I urge you all to go over to moveoveramerica.com and read why this law came to be. It seems that idiot drivers would not change lanes when they saw the stopped vehicle on the side of the road, and the cop getting out of the car would get popped by the careless driver. How sad is that? Warning, some scary graphic vid on that site.

It would appear from google image search that there is a major awareness campaign going on for this. Color me stupid, but I seemed to have missed it. And I suppose most of my friends did, too.

So… what started as a what the hell funny story has now become a sort of a public service announcement.

Because, you know; I can be that way.

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Filed under absurdities, road signs, signage

Love it or Get the Hell Out?

Talk about overzealous patriotism. I am not sure what would possess someone to paint this on the back of their truck. Do we really need more hostility on the road? Do we need to shove the U. S. of A. down the throats of  immigrants, visitors or citizens for that matter?

Is is not enough to simply ‘like’ this country. In this era of facebook the word ‘like’ has a pretty positive connotation. It crosses the board of things we love, like, just simply think we are aligned with…

I felt compelled to wait to see who got into this truck. But then I was a little afraid that if I did not love the shirt he was wearing he would have told me to get the hell out of the parking lot.

Yeesh!

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Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, road signs

A Big Florida Welcome

Yes, I am back in the Sunshine State, and I use that term loosely this season.

This is a billboard as you get out of the airport towards I95. Nothing like making the tourists feel at home as soon as they arrive.

Stay tuned for more stories.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, humor, road signs, signage, travel

Florida Soundbites

Florida: Day 4 and leaving.

I thought I would wrap this one up with some funny things that were said or seen over the weekend. But first I would like to give a big shout out WHAT THE HELL to the two women who just sat behind me in the Jet Blue terminal at PBI. I am an hour early for my flight because I love airports my brother’s flight was earlier and I am literally one of 4 people at the gate. These two blabbermouths had to sit in the seats directly behind me and yack away…

in a foreign language. SERIOUSLY!

Ok, so here are some of the funnier things from the weekend:

My Aunt: My mother told me that she loved my father more after he was dead.

My Cousin: While playing a game with all the grandmothers when they were still with us (this was the generation of my grandmother) in response to body parts that come in pairs my Aunt’s mother (from above) responded, “Penis” This could explain why she stayed with her husband for so many years, even if she loved him more after he was dead.

My Mom: (in response to my dad saying that I had a great sense of humor) Yeh, especially when it comes to poo. (ok, my brother and I discuss bodily functions maybe a little bit more than average siblings).

My Dad: You have to understand all our weather comes from the West. It comes in from the Gulf of Mexico. That means we get used weather.

For a nice little wrap up, here are three of my favorite signs:

1. This billboard sits outside the road leading to my parents’ community. I believe it is placed there just in case all the Northerners of ‘the tribe’ had any questions about His existence.

2. This Derm seems to cover it all. Permanant make-up? WTF? What if you want to change color. Is it like the mood ring material? And would you really trust someone with your skin cancer that does permanent makeup?  Just asking?

3. I will close with the creepy child mannequin and the miracle suit poster, just because this says so much.

In closing, I will quote a dear friend who said this about visiting Florida,  “just remember that you are watching a movie in which you will play the LEADING role some time in the future.”

My answer to that is, “I only pray I will be so lucky.”

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great visit. And Keith, no one makes me laugh quite like you.

Let the Matzoh begin!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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Filed under aging parents, family, religion, road signs, things i've heard, travel

No, this is not my truck

But whoever was driving it is surely a kindred spirit. A big thank you to Gary for taking this picture for me. If you did not read last week’s post about my experience on the Cross Bronx Expressway you cannot fully appreciate why this is so funny.

Although on it’s own it is pretty damn funny.

I particularly like the steaming illustration. My brother should love this!

Hmmm, I wonder where I can buy this bumper sticker. It would make such a lovely gift. Silly me, all you have to do is google it… if you are interested, you can buy it here.

Wait you guys, I don’t want to wake up and come outside to find this on my bumper, ok? Just want to make that clear.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, humor, road signs, road trip

Prozac Country

prozac-don't-worry-be-happy

Sometimes you are driving down the road, you are weary from a long trip and the conversation has long since died down. Then out of nowhere a visual gift is placed before you. Sometimes your husband points it out and then actually thinks that he is not obligated to turn that damn car around and pull over so you can take the shot. (guess who won that argument).

I kid you not, my friends, no retouching here. This is not one of those funny church sign generator images. This is the real deal.

Stuck in the worst kind of traffic on the way home from the Adirondacks, we took a side route and ambled upon someone’s front lawn with this sitting on it. Talk about the mother of all lawn ornaments. This blows away the frogs and bunnies. If you don’t believe this is for real, take a drive down route 199 in Milan, NY and you will find this yourself. It is between the Rhinebeck Bridge and the Taconic State Parkway.

After a 5 hour drive one could surely use a million milligrams of Prozac.

(please note the Keep Out sign in the bottom left corner, guess that means they don’t share)

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

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Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, humor, photography, places of interest, products, road signs, road trip