Another Milestone & A Sign Of The Times...

Well, we made it here to POST #300!
(stops to pop a cork or two)
Unlike the other "300", I think the longevity and survival rate HERE will be a tad longer lasting.

Thanks to your continued interest, comments, and encouragement, we here at the "Erudition" are thankful of those who stop by to comment, as well as those (in the news and around my neighborhood) who provide "fodder for my cannon" with their words, actions, and sheer lunacy. Keep it up...I've barely scratched the surface...heh, heh, heh.

Now...(as Paul Harvey would say) "On to the Rest of the story"...

The city's *new* sign ordinance (pause to yawn), made to keep blight along the municipal right-of-way to a minimum, is a good idea that's LONG overdue, in spite of those who put this ordinance forward. That would be the "nanny-squad", and they KNOW who they are. I know for a fact that having all the "local entrepreneurs" cluttering utility poles in MY neighborhood is just adding insult to injury when it comes to making a distressed area look even more...well...distressed.

I personally detest those "ads" that state WE PAY FOR JUNK CARS - CALL 468-8689 (go ahead and call them...just for the hell of it), or HOME FOR SALE (read hovel that's a REAL "fixer-upper") CALL 436-5000 (go ahead and call them as well...I don't mind) tacked with an inordinate amount of staples every damn month.

So, like ANY concerned citizen that gives a damn...I march my 55 year old ass right out there, and rip them the hell DOWN. That pole belongs to the UTILITY COMPANY, and since they're too busy making sure YOU have electric or phone service, they just don't have the manpower or the time to devote to removing this crap from every pole THEY OWN.
Gee...maybe I should "sub-contract" myself out to them...or at least send them a bill for my 30 seconds of "work" I do for them monthly...'ya think? Hell, they can just CREDIT my account...that seems fair enough.

And those GARAGE SALE signs we see BLOCKS from where it's supposed to be a week BEFORE it occurs....and weeks AFTER it's over...they shouldn't be UP that long in the first place. If you DO have a garage sale, put a sign on YOUR PROPERTY...simple, huh? Better yet...take an ad in the CLASSIFIED section of the local papers (but be advised, people don't READ as WELL or as MUCH as they USED to).
Same goes for lost pets. If someone REALLY needs and wants their pet found, tack a sign at the SPCA, grocery stores, convenience stores (always ASK first when placing flyers at PUBLIC locations such as these...a little COURTESY still goes a LONG way), or place them in the mailboxes or doors of neighborhood residents. Again...simple, huh?
Besides, it shows a bit more CONCERN than a mere flyer hurriedly stapled to a corner utility pole...and makes the area look a helluva lot better in the process!

Whatever sign you choose to place ON YOUR PROPERTY is YOUR business, and should be acknowledged as such by the city. No one ever begrudges a person a BEWARE OF DOG or a NO TRESPASSING sign on their property, do they? In many cases it provides a single glance overview of the property owner's wishes, and we should abide by them, unless we're really feeling "lucky" (well...do 'ya punk?)...!

So I would have to say that it's about damn time city council did something (IMHO) noteworthy...it just took them a decade or two to make it happen. Can't WAIT to see how long before we see another ENFORCEABLE ordinance come our way, unlike so many other ordinances that are there in black and white, but are just not able to be enforced. Then again, it takes a few more concerned citizens than just ME to take back ANY neighborhood (such as mine), or at least keep it from deteriorating further (like mine).

It's OUR neighborhood...OUR city...and OUR choice.