Friday, May 04, 2012

old hibernating momente









One of my favourite if somewhat self-aware road signs.

An elderly lady  whom I know by sight and I pass in the street. The sky is grey and a chill winds edges between the houses. "We should be hibernating," she says.

Today I realise that the two items in this post  so far are age related. No apologies. Here's a  third. I don't mind being old, or should I say older. Moments are better appreciated.


2 comments:

Roderick Robinson said...

There's a complementary notice that goes with this road sign, warning drivers that the elderly are out and about. This is a usage problem. Elderly surely means on the way to becoming old; instead it's been turned into a euphemism to label those who are old.

The figures on the sign are old, without a doubt. Certainly decrepit. One might argue that drivers should be warned about the elderly (in the true sense) since they may have the wherewithal to do something silly when crossing a road. The old are merely inert, or very very slow.

Reading through what I've written I realise I could be accused of being non-PC. People may be on their last legs but we're not allowed to say so. Well, I'm 77 and there is absolutely no doubt which of the two adjectives applies to me: chairman emeritus of the IMOIMO organisation which champions straight-talking about human decay. A thought occurs to me: people who've "come out" on the subject might be issued with a reduced facsimile of the road sign (in cardboard) which could be worn front and rear. Saying, in effect: Mugger's, I'm All Yours.

Lucy said...

The thing I always like about that sign is it looks like she's goosing him.