Gone with the Wind?

This week's howling winds remind me of Hurricane Sandy blowing through here last fall. Everywhere I see flying debris, trash cans in the streets ... even my huge Montgomery County-issued blue paper recycling cart was blown over!

Yet standing undisturbed in the gale-force winds are the two speed cameras on Route 108. Last summer after they were installed, I had to remind myself to slow down in certain spots (Speed Camera Paranoia). Shortly before Hurricane Sandy in October, as people battened down the hatches and tied down anything that moved, the speed cameras disappeared. "What? Where did they go?" I asked myself before realizing that of course they were removed in preparation for the storm. By November and after the storm, the cameras were back in place.

But then in early December, the camera on 108's westbound side right before St. John's disappeared ...  only to reappear in a spot past St. John's. Therefore, with a false sense of relief motorists would tell themselves, "Oh good, no more speed camera" and whiz past St. John's only to realize a second later, "Hey, wait, what's that white thing up there --" FLASH! And then in early January, just when everyone was used to slowing down after St. John's, the westbound speed camera was moved back to its original spot before St. John's. I guess this game of musical chairs is supposed to keep us drivers on our toes (or maybe our feet off the gas).

Strangely, the speed camera next to the post office has never budged; it stands sentry over 108's eastbound traffic, unshakable in the tempestuous winds.