Here we have the same small midwestertn town's gas station from MMeM Vol. 5 Issue 14. Wonderful! More well wishes for happy birthdays to local friends and family.



Let's see, we have little Noah who is 6 and Emily who doesn't have her age posted.  Maybe she's an adult who doesn't like her age being advertised!  The gas station must honor such sensitivities like that.  Yep, good ole midwestern charm!

Do we dare check out the other side of the sign again?  Surely this time they have just duplicated the birthdays on the opposite side...right?

Have you ever noticed how dated some of our nation's road signs are? I suppose there are a couple of reasons for this to be the case. First, it costs money to produce road signs, and as we all know, all of our governments are broke. The other reason that road signs don't get updated very often is probably due to the recognition factor.

Obviously, you wouldn't want to suddenly come out with a new sign for a crosswalk and not have people recognize it. But, this very practice is going to cause more problems. Some people aren't going to know what some of the symbols on signs even refer to anymore.

Take this example.


Now, if you were born before 1990 you know that this is a depiction of two children playing on a teeter-totter. The desired inference from this sign is to tell drivers that they are approaching a playground and should use caution. I defy you to find a playground today with a teeter-totter on it. Don't believe me? Here is the playground for which this sign is on display.


Nope, not one teeter-totter.

See, teeter-totters have long since been banned and deemed dangerous. I mean who could forget the great teeter-totter attacks of the 80's?

And check out the sign on the light pole just before the teeter-totter sign.


No, I'm not going to do the obligatory "SLOW" children playing joke here. That comes later...in another post. No, my question is what in the hell is this "children" wearing?

Are those "KNICKERS" I see? Have we driven into a time machine throwing us back into the great depression? Did the artist for this image use the runners from the Chariots of Fire movie as models?

While we're at it, let's update this construction sign too. I have never understood what this guy is holding. Is it a shovel with an invisible blade? Is that a hoe? Maybe a triangle on a stick for a spade? No, it's a curler...from the Olympics!

You know, I've heard stories about today's topic. Apparently, there are people who actually put money INTO an ATM? Can you believe that? Who does this? Certainly, not me. And, it's not because I prefer to make deposits the old fashioned way (NOTE: Many jokes were passed on here), rather I don't have any extra income that is not already in the bank.

I use my local bank's ATM all the time. I am constantly making myself more poor by withdrawing what little funds I do have. Here is my main, "go-to" ATM...



Now, when referencing the fact that there are people who put money INTO an ATM, I don't mean the technician that fills the machine up with more money. Again, I've heard rumors, or more likely urban legends, that some people put money into ATMs in the form of deposits. Wait a second, I think I see the receptacle used for this purpose.



And, upon further inspection I think you will see that I'm not the only person using this ATM that doesn't put money into it.



Yep, that's right there's a spiderweb covering the deposit slot!

I knew that wasn't true...people putting money INTO and ATM, what a laugher!

Small towns in the Midwest are warm and friendly places. They are the kind of towns where everyone knows everyone else. Generally, people look out for each other and wish only the best for each other.

Even local businesses get in on the act of wishing others well. I remember the grain elevator near my house used to always put area children's names on their lighted sign announcing and wishing them a happy birthday.

Just the other day, I drove past this example of a local gas station that had 3 people's names listed wishing them all a happy birthday.




Well look at that, Elijah is turning 30! That's sweet. Of course, whenver I see these signs I always watch in my rear view mirror to see if they have duplicated the same message on the opposite side.

Let's see about this sign, is Elijah being wished a happy birthday to the southbound traffic as well?





Wait, um, ok that's not at all what I was expecting. That's a rather harsh message opposite a nice happy birthday message.

Sorry Jon. I guess it's NOT your birthday huh?