Flashes of Panic

Somebody has a weird obsession with our street sign.

I’ve lost track of the number of times it has disappeared. The one at the east end seems pretty safe, but on the more heavily-travelled road to the west, the sign has vanished… well, at least three times that I can recall, maybe more, mostly in the past three months. It vanished again today—I clearly remember seeing it last night, but this evening it’s gone.

They just take the sign. The post is untouched. Once they left a fragment of the sign which wouldn’t let go of the post. The town gamely replaces it every time.

I’m not clear on why, either. If it was something about the name of the street, and people wanted to have the sign (maybe someone’s name?) you’d think they’d get the east end too; or it wouldn’t happen as often. Plus, I don’t see what the appeal of this particular street name would be.

Thankfully, I know where the turn is, but it would be murder if I needed to give someone directions. “Well, it looks sort of like a driveway, and there’s no sign…” I’ve talked to several people who’ve lived in this town for years and have never heard of this street.

One hopes we’ll never have to give directions to a 911 dispatcher while the sign is missing.