Punk Rock Art Corner: Faded Yield Signs On A Sunny Afternoon

<Faded Yield Sign, Left/
Photo/The Squawker>

 

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There we sat the Squawker and I, enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon, cruising around our hometown stomping grounds, after visiting some friends at the township library, and scoping up a couple sale books for $2.50. But that was a couple hours ago, right? Now we're hungry.

We've stopped by our local McDonald's for a snack, a dollar McChicken for us both, and some large French Fries for Yer Humble Narrator.

We park in a shady area, across from The House of the Clown, when we notice these signs. 

What a sight for sore eyes they offer, too, enough to make us laugh out loud. "I've seen some faded street signs in my time, but these?" I wonder. "Seems like somebody still needs the space, no?"

"You know they're having a rough time, when they're not keeping up the disability parking signs," Squawker agreed. "After all..."

Now it's my turn to finish the next sentence. "It's not like somebody still can't use them," I nod. "Or doesn't need to use them."  

<Faded Yield Sign, Right

Photo/The Squawker>

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Squawker and I continue tucking away into our snacks, wondering how this odd sight emerged. The McDonald's itself has only just been remodeled. Hell, they've even added a second drive through lane, so they have to be doing well, right? 

Yet there the gleaming new fast food joint sits, next to these comically faded signs. It reminds me when the oil change shop, of all things, shut down in one of the small towns we once inhabited. You know it's a tough place when that type of joint can't make it, right? 

After all, everybody needs an oil change after so many thousand miles. It's not as if any driver gets a say, if you want to keep a car for any length of time. My dad reminded me of that principle often enough, when my skimpy paychecks forced me to choose between routine maintenance, and fripperies like monthly insurance bills.

Anyway, the Squawker needs no prompting to snap the photo, which happens once we finish off our snacks. All in all, we've had a nice, low key, relaxing day, but an unsettling conclusion still manages to cross my mind, anyway.

Seeing these images again offers another reminder, as if anybody needs one, of the nitty gritty reality lurking behind the well-scrubbed, polite exterior of your surroundings, no matter how pleasant they seem. So goes life in the big city, and likewise, in Anytown USA. --The Reckoner