Always a Sign
Our world is filled with signs. They are an omnipresent feature of our society. The minute you step foot out of your front door, you are confronted with signs. It’s an all out assault. They tell us where we are, where to go, how to get there, how fast we can go, which door to enter, which one to exit, whether to push, whether to pull, which direction to walk, how close we can stand to one another - and that’s just for starters. The list is endless, but I don’t have to tell you that. You know. We are directed by them every step of the way. You need never fear leaving your home and not knowing what to do next. The signs will tell you.
I must admit that these signs are generally pretty helpful, and they do keep us safe. They are also usually very straightforward and clear in their instructions – never wordy. I don’t believe that any of us has ever experienced any confusion about the word “stop.” That’s not open to interpretation.
Only once in my life have I seen a sign that left me baffled. I was in my early teenage years when I walked out of a 7-Eleven and noticed a sign that read, “No Loitering.” “No Loitering? What the heck does that mean?” I thought to myself. I didn’t have a clue, so when I got home I walked in the back door with my Slurpee and did what I always did in these situations. I asked Mom, and she did what she always did. She told me to look it up. Then, because she never wanted to miss a chance to explain something, she decided to go ahead and define the word for me and gave me an example of how it could be used in a sentence. Once I understood it’s meaning, I was amazed to think that the problem of loitering had reached such a point that businesses were posting signs to prevent it, but apparently it had.
Since then I have seen many of those signs over the years, and I can’t help but wonder if the actual loiterers even grasp their intent. Do people who have nothing better to do than to hang around outside of a grocery store even know what that word means? I was a reasonably well educated adolescent the first time I saw the word, and I didn’t know. And what happens if you choose to disobey the sign? Does the manager come out and politely ask you to move along? Or does he raise his voice while he tells you to hit the road and throw in a few expletives for good measure? Or does he call the police and have you ticketed or even arrested? I hardly think it would go that far, but if it did and you found yourself in court facing a charge of loitering, would you need legal representation? I don’t know, but if it came to that, I’m pretty sure a good attorney could get you off.