I have mentioned before that I live in a great neighborhood. The neighborhood consists of two opposite types of people. There is the side that I live on, which is 28 units called “Next Generation” housing. Which is mainly all young couples starting their lives. And the other hundred and some units are 55 and older units. Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one thinking that it’s a horrible mix. Anyway, I love the neighborhood most of the time, (at least my side) but sometimes the ridiculous grievances made by the 55 and older side is enough to drive a girl nuts! My list could go on and on about that, but today I want to talk about the newest thing that makes me shake my head in wonderment, and that is the silly signs that they insist on putting around the neighborhood. The particular signs I’m talking about today are the Pet Waste signs….yes dear readers today’s random thought is about signage.

I’m all for signs. Sometimes they are absolutely necessary. The reason I am finding these signs to be so ridiculous is because of where they insist on putting them. I believe in picking up after your dog. I really do, and I would do so whether a sign is up or not, but some people in the neighborhood choose not to. So in order to remind people who seem to forget, the community board decided to purchase some signs to put up around the neighborhood. Fine..whatever. Let’s spend the communities money on the idiots who don’t have common sense. The original signs were put up on the back of the stop signs in the neighborhood. Ok…fine..whatever. They were there, and people could see them, so their job was being done…well…not so much…

Through the grape vine I hear that some people are not picking up after their dogs. WHAT? Could it be that the signs aren’t doing their job? Do you mean to tell me that someone looked at the sign and decided to do what they wanted anyway? So today I am looking out my window (or my perch as I like to call it because I am that nosy neighbor that works from home) and see our maintenance man putting yet another sign up in the ground by the gate outside of my house. Yet another pet waste sign. Now I have to ask you this my readers. Do you really think that a new sign is going to make ANY difference to whoever has already decided that they were not going to pick up after their dog? I’m going to have to go with no…it will not make one lick of difference. My dad made a good analogy…You see a speed limit sign that reads 55 mph. You know that’s the speed limit, and you know its wrong to go faster than that…but do you? Sure! Do you think more signs along the way will make people slow down? No! How about No littering signs? We all know it’s bad not to litter, but do you think a sign that says don’t do it will stop a litterer who really wants to drop some?? Nope..I really don’t think so.

So now as I look out of my perch I get to see a nice pet waste sign. It’s silly….just plain old silly.