Thursday, August 14, 2008

Think?


I am from South Dakota. I haven't lived there for about 18 years. Gah, is it that long already? Yes, I guess it is. I don't even visit very often because my parents have long since moved to another state. So when I go back to South Dakota I am usually overcome by a deep sense of nostalgia. I'm not one of those people who leaves their hometown and then talks smack about it to all their high falootin' city folk friends. I truly have a fondly passionate kinship with the place of my birth and childhood. I am proud to refer to myself as a native South Dakotan.
There are some weird things about South Dakota, however. I was visiting the other day when I noticed the Think signs. Think signs, or fatality markers as they are known to the highway patrol, are exactly what they appear to be. They are signs that are put out on the side of the road to mark where someone died as the result of an accident. These signs were common when I was growing up, and I didn't realize they were unique to South Dakota until I went away. The creepiest scene is when you see 6 or 7 of these things lined up in a row, depicting a muti-fatality accident.

I'm not sure if any accidents are prevented by having the scene of an automobile death marked on the side of the road, but then again maybe it will keep a few drunks from driving. Maybe someone will think before making a phone call at 70 miles an hour. Maybe.

1 comment:

belsum said...

Ooh, I forgot about the Think signs. Those things always freaked me out.

But I suppose the same thing is happening spontaneously around here with all the little plastic crosses and flowers shrines that go up at accident sites.