Sign of the Times...Literally

I've always been irritated by the little bitty advertisements that people stick on utility poles or plant in the grass at major intersections. They usually have only two or three words on them and a phone number.

I suppose it's about the cheapest form of advertising there is, and I don't fault anyone trying to make a living, but I hate that--though I've seen entrepeneurs putting these signs up before--I've never seen them taking them down. It's up to the police, a civic organization, or the wind to do that, so that the signs are basically a form of littering.

So I don't like the signs, but yesterday I saw one and it struck me as being sort of a metaphor of a change in the American mindset. Because in the past when I saw those signs they tended to focus in on things that greedy Americans wanted. The signs would say "Make $$$ at Home 555-4364" or "Lose Weight Fast 555-8374" or "Learn to Invest 555-9624."

But things in America have changed. The days of the $100 hamburger are gone. And this is the sign I saw yesterday: