Signs of the Times

Whew — we blew through another blustery day! I hope that no one lost electricity this time. 

Before yesterday, the last extremely windy day we endured was Friday, March 2. 

On Monday, March 4, one the Olney-Brookeville Exchange writer asked, “What happened to the Sherwood sign at the intersection? The frame is out and bent and the sign itself is pushed in. Was it a car, vandalism or the wind?”

Another writer quickly responded, “Don’t you think wind? Nothing else around it is damaged.”

Maybe nothing around the sign was damaged, but plenty of branches and debris were scattered on roads around Olney.

Sure enough, when I stopped at the Georgia Avenue-Route 108 traffic light, I saw this:

Indeed, wind was the winner.

Look at this poor sign from the sides!

Not far south of Olney on Georgia Avenue, I recently did a double-take when I saw this:

Was this gas price for regular gas too good to be true? Did the wind have something to do with the missing numbers? Probably not–the wind couldn’t have blown off the numbers because the sign is electric. Or maybe the sign just has a glitch on its own.

Darn, I wish my car used regular gas.

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.