Me If You've Heard This One
It looks like another wet week here in Oaktown. Evening walkies with Doggy Dog were a tad on the damp side and involved the unpleasant crunch of the occasional shellicky bookey unfortunate enough to have placed itself in the path of my thick-heeled cowboy boots.
A sight glimpsed through the curtain of rain gave me pause. It was a Stop sign, modified by graffiti to provide a philosophical point dear to the author. This is not a new phenomenon. I first noticed such guerrilla commentaries when I moved to Berkeley in the mid-80s. I suppose it was old hat then, but I’d never seen anybody do it in Grande Prairie. At the time – 1985 – the standard message was simply to add “Reagan” under the “Stop,” so that it became “Stop Reagan.” Later, it was became “Stop Bush.” Still later it became “Stop Bush” again. I was in New Orleans for a good chunk of the Clinton years, so I’m not sure who was being stopped then.* Nowadays, though – the stop sign I read tonight had “Don’t” written at the top and “smokin’ weed” at the bottom which, if I’m going too fast for you, adds up to “Don’t stop smokin’ weed.” Does this signal a shift of generational apathy? Or is it just that I don’t live in Berkeley anymore?
___________________
*Maybe “Don’t” on top and “thinkin’ about tomorrow” on bottom?
A sight glimpsed through the curtain of rain gave me pause. It was a Stop sign, modified by graffiti to provide a philosophical point dear to the author. This is not a new phenomenon. I first noticed such guerrilla commentaries when I moved to Berkeley in the mid-80s. I suppose it was old hat then, but I’d never seen anybody do it in Grande Prairie. At the time – 1985 – the standard message was simply to add “Reagan” under the “Stop,” so that it became “Stop Reagan.” Later, it was became “Stop Bush.” Still later it became “Stop Bush” again. I was in New Orleans for a good chunk of the Clinton years, so I’m not sure who was being stopped then.* Nowadays, though – the stop sign I read tonight had “Don’t” written at the top and “smokin’ weed” at the bottom which, if I’m going too fast for you, adds up to “Don’t stop smokin’ weed.” Does this signal a shift of generational apathy? Or is it just that I don’t live in Berkeley anymore?
___________________
*Maybe “Don’t” on top and “thinkin’ about tomorrow” on bottom?
posted by PapaDogDuvalier | 8:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home