१४ मार्च, २०१७

A square look at signs.

Here's yesterday's discussion of the square format in photography. I'm shuffling through the mass of photographs from our trip. I posted a few along the way as we traveled across the country and back over the last 2 weeks, but I've got many left to pick through. I'm doing a bit of that now and experimenting with cropping to a square composition.

Here are 3 that Meade stopped the car for me to take. I love roadside signs and have missed so many over the years as I've thought of stopping but barreled past anyway. But I've gotten better at seeing how important these opportunities are — much more important than big landmarks like the Delicate Arch, which are pointed out for you and photographed so often. These roadside sights are something you find for yourself. The idea that this can be a photograph is your idea. And Meade has been a great companion, who not only does nearly all the driving and drives with professional care but who turns my idea that this could be a photograph into an actual stop and who also often has the idea that this is a photograph.

Here's something we stopped for in Orderville, Utah:

P1120177

I love how generic and inclusive that big sign is. And I'm fascinated by the wacky jumble of points on the red shape. Is it Googie? Anyway, I love the contrast between the complicated, exciting red structure and the simple, bland words. But it wasn't that sign that caused the stop. It was that little yellow sign. "Buffalo Elk Gator Jerky":

P1120178

It was Meade who spotted that sign and insisted that we stop and I take a picture of it. It's only as I process the photo now that I see that the requisite potshots have been taken at it. I pause to Google why do people shoot at signs? and find "The Dangers and Costs of Sign Shooting" at Outdoorhub. I'm shooting the sign myself, of course, but I don't leave my impression in Orderville. I put it here on the blog.

Now, I wasn't even sure this picture was from Utah, and I don't know if I ever knew we passed through a place named Orderville. I know it's Orderville because I swiveled around and took a shot at "Food & Drug" and saw that it did have a less than completely generic name: Terry's.

P1120179

I found a Yelp review — one review, 5 stars — for Terry's Food & Drug — "Small town service for a small town" — and that's where I see this is Orderville.

Orderville. We didn't explore. We only stopped for some signs that charmed us, transitorily. I muse about the motives to name a town Orderville. I think of law and order. But that's the kind of thinking of a person who blows through town and takes in the surfaces. Gator jerky! A Sinclair sign! Numbers painted on the rocks! But Orderville is something else:

Orderville was established at the direction of LDS Church president Brigham Young in 1875 specifically to live United Order, a voluntary form of communalism defined by Joseph Smith. Orderville was settled primarily by destitute refugees from failed settlements on the Muddy River in Nevada....

Under the United Order, no person in Orderville could have private property, as it was all considered to be God's land. Each person was made a steward over some personal effects, and every family a steward over a home. During the first two years, the settlers worked without receiving income. They were allowed to use supplies and take food as needed. The bishop of Orderville oversaw the distribution of goods. Credit[s] were recorded for all work done by men, women, and children and used to obtain needed materials and keep track of the labor done in the settlement. In 1877, the Order began a price system to replace the credit system, and monetary values were assigned to all labor and goods. At the beginning of each year, debts were forgiven, and those who had earned a surplus voluntarily gave it back to the Order....

The Order continued in Orderville for approximately 10 years.... The youth of Orderville envied the youth in other communities, creating a friction within the community.... In 1885, the enforcement of the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882 effectively ended the Order by jailing many of the Order's leaders and driving many of the others underground....
I'm still blowing right through. That's just a Wikipedia entry. Forgive me for being so cavalier. Give me a sign.

IN THE COMMENTS:  Lance links to this story about pants by James D. Gordon III:
Leonard Arrington's book, Great Basin Kingdom, tells a story about Orderville, Utah, where in the 1870s the Saints lived the law of consecration. It was not easy to live in Orderville. The town was founded in an atmosphere of poverty. By contrast, not far away, at Silver Reef, the coming of the railroad permitted the development of the silver mines. People in surrounding towns suddenly were able to buy imported clothing and other commodities. The Orderville Saints came to be viewed as "old fashioned." Their floppy straw hats and gray jeans became objects of ridicule. Orderville teenagers began to envy their peers in neighboring towns.

One of those teenagers was the father of my wife's great aunt. He was growing quickly, as teenagers do, and his pants became too short. But there were no holes in them, and so his application for a new pair was denied. However, there was a large crop of lambs that spring. When the lambs' tails were docked, he sheared the wool off the tails. When he took a load of wool to Nephi, he quietly traded the lamb's tail wool for a brand new pair of store-bought gentile pants. When he returned, he wore the new pants to the next dance. "His entrance caused a sensation."According to the story, one young woman rushed up to him and kissed him. The president of the Order asked for an explanation, and the young man told the truth. The president said, "According to your own story these pants belong to the Order. You are requested to appear before the Board of Management tomorrow evening at half-past eight, and to bring the store pants with you."

At the meeting, the Board commended the young man for his enterprise, but reminded him that all pants must be made from the same cloth. But to prove its good will, the Board agreed to unseam the store pants and use them as a pattern for all pants made in the future. They told the young man that he would receive the first pair.

The tailoring department was soon overwhelmed with orders for the new pants. It was noticed that the boys' old pants were getting thin, and even holes developed, on the seat of the pants. This was a puzzle. The boys were frequently on their knees when praying or weeding the garden, but they didn't spend much time sitting down. Why were these holes developing? Then the elders saw groups of boys going to the shed where the grindstone was located. They investigated. The boys were wearing out the seat of their pants on the grindstone. The elders protested and then gave in. They sent a load of wool to Washington Mills to trade for cloth, and the tailor shop became a busy place. Thus ended the great pants rebellion of Orderville.
ADDED: Now that I've put this post up, I see the obvious value of the square format. It maximizes the size of the picture you can put up on a web page that has horizontal but not vertical limitations. Since most 4:3 aspect photos are shot horizontally, the 500-pixel width imposes a 375-pixel height. The square claims 125 previously unobtainable pixels of vertical space.

BONUS: The origin of the sign.

५२ टिप्पण्या:

madAsHell म्हणाले...

transitorily

garner, garner, garner!!

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I have a flickr tag "signs"

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhhardin/tags/signs

My favorites are personal messages to the world, but anything qualifies.

Unknown म्हणाले...

Orderville and a few communities like it pretty much put the nail in the coffin for Mormon support for communism/socialism.

We tried it. We put a great deal of effort into it. And it doesn't work!

We Mormons were geniuses at organizing, at pioneering, at self sufficiency. We settled the harshest parts of America, and succeeded beyond all expectations.

But we couldn't make socialism work.

The cold, hard truth is this: Socialism only works with a people who are righteous and good. People who have overcome their jealous natures, who do not envy or covet. People who put others first as a matter of routine; a self sacrificing people. True Christians, in other words.

Sadly, only the Amish even approach that in the world today, and maybe a very few assorted monks. Socialism may well work for them.

But for us? it's a nightmare, as it only leads to oppression, misery and woe. History has amply proven that.

I would judge Orderville a moderate success as a communal lifestyle. Certainly far better than any Democrat run place, or Russia or China. But it also exposed the problems people have living it: until you overcome your natural, base instincts, it is impossible to live.

Orderville probably partially explains the deep Mormon affiliation with conservatism: we know why liberalism is destined to fail. And also why the left's mixing of government and claiming it is Christianity in action is so utterly wrong, and a plot to seduce people into giving up their freedom in exchange for slavery.

The only possible way to make communal living possible is to work on the inside first: reforming mankind itself.

And since that only works via genuine religious conversion, not government coercion, the left is destined to fail. Always, without doubt: it will always lead to misery and woe.

--Vance

Titus म्हणाले...

When they say "food and drug" does that mean it is a restaurant and drug store? Or does the food just mean you can buy snacks?

Food and Drug makes me think of the old Rennebohm's in Madison where my mom would take me for lunch.

mezzrow म्हणाले...

re: your progression herein toward the history of Orderville.

"I'm telling you, everyone's life is a fucking Russian novel if you dig deep enough. Everyone." - Theo Epstein

This is best read in context...

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17588399/theo-epstein-mastermind-cubs-season

Lance म्हणाले...

A great story about Orderville:

"It was not easy to live in Orderville. The town was founded in an atmosphere of poverty. By contrast, not far away, at Silver Reef, the coming of the railroad permitted the development of the silver mines. People in surrounding towns suddenly were able to buy imported clothing and other commodities. The Orderville Saints came to be viewed as "old fashioned." Their floppy straw hats and gray jeans became objects of ridicule. Orderville teenagers began to envy their peers in neighboring towns.

"One of those teenagers was the father of my wife's great aunt. He was growing quickly, as teenagers do, and his pants became too short. But there were no holes in them, and so his application for a new pair was denied. However, there was a large crop of lambs that spring. When the lambs' tails were docked, he sheared the wool off the tails. When he took a load of wool to Nephi, he quietly traded the lamb's tail wool for a brand new pair of store-bought gentile pants. When he returned, he wore the new pants to the next dance. "His entrance caused a sensation." (3) According to the story, one young woman rushed up to him and kissed him. The president of the Order asked for an explanation, and the young man told the truth. The president said, "According to your own story these pants belong to the Order. You are requested to appear before the Board of Management tomorrow evening at half-past eight, and to bring the store pants with you." (4)

"At the meeting, the Board commended the young man for his enterprise, but reminded him that all pants must be made from the same cloth. But to prove its good will, the Board agreed to unseam the store pants and use them as a pattern for all pants made in the future. They told the young man that he would receive the first pair.

"The tailoring department was soon overwhelmed with orders for the new pants. It was noticed that the boys' old pants were getting thin, and even holes developed, on the seat of the pants. This was a puzzle. The boys were frequently on their knees when praying or weeding the garden, but they didn't spend much time sitting down. Why were these holes developing? Then the elders saw groups of boys going to the shed where the grindstone was located. They investigated. The boys were wearing out the seat of their pants on the grindstone. The elders protested and then gave in. They sent a load of wool to Washington Mills to trade for cloth, and the tailor shop became a busy place. Thus ended the great pants rebellion of Orderville."

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

Buffalo Jerky sounds interesting. I presume it's not chicken wings, but real Buffalo.

I wonder how long does it take to make an entire Buffalo into jerky. All winter + spring?

Henry म्हणाले...

My Grandmother spent her early childhood in Orderville and nothing but fond memories.

rehajm म्हणाले...

The red part of the sign came from whatever business went tits up before Terry moved in slapped up the signage on top. It looks like there are holes for the neon tubes- like the old signs from donut shops. Perhaps they were driven out of business by the do-nut or ho-made pie places.

Birches म्हणाले...

I'm so glad the story of the pair of evil jeans has been told. It's one of my favorites. It's no wonder they filmed FOOTLOOSE in Lehi...

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Great story about the pants. That should be a movie.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

I love how generic and inclusive that big sign is. And I'm fascinated by the wacky jumble of points on the red shape.

I don't think it's really "Googie," but clearly once upon a time the sign was much more elaborate. A good guess is that the original business was sold one or more times and painting out the old sign to use it as an elaborate signpost was the most cost-effective way to move forward.

BTW, your hot link to Googie, doesn't work. I presume you meant the "Googie" style of architecture from the 1950s, because that is sort of in keeping with the old sign's shape.

I once had the unfortunate experience of working with art historians attempting to automate an art history database. IMHO if you want three opinions on anything just put two art historians in the same room. This is a long way of saying that you can certainly find an architectural historian who argues strenuously that the sign is a remnant of Googie, and another who will contemptuously dismiss the very thought.

Titus म्हणाले...

I have eaten elk. My dad hunted in Montana and always shot an elk (and an antelope). I have eaten elk steak, burgers, jerky etc. We also have elk and antelope heads all over our garage.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"The red part of the sign came from whatever business went tits up before Terry moved in slapped up the signage on top."

I know. But which one. It's not full-on Holiday Inn, but something from that school of design.

Rae म्हणाले...

I've had venison jerky. Never had buffalo jerky, but I've had a buffalo burger, since a restaurant nearby serves them. Never had gator jerky, but I've had gator. Tastes like fish - and chicken!

Every small town you drive through in this country has interesting story in it's founding. Why was it founded here? Why was it given that name?

Look up the story of Hell, Michigan for an example.

But for most people, it's all flyover country.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

The "Terry's" sign is probably an old motel sign.

When I "Bing.news"** ["orderville" utah] this post is the first result!
(google is hallucinating: "Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network.")

Anyway, that part of Utah/Arizona is known for remnants of polygamy, inbred kids, welfare fraud and corrupt police, though I think it's mostly two other towns, Colorado City and St. George(?) which are nearer the AZ border.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Fernandinande said...
remnants of polygamy,


Underage wives who are also relatives, hence the inbreeding.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Sheriff’s officials from Arizona and Utah said in federal court that a local police department serving two polygamous towns should be disbanded.
"In March, a jury found the agency did not protect non-members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

Simply holding a Fourth of July celebration in Colorado City is a big deal. "Some community members said these types of patriotic celebrations were banned under FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who is now in prison for two counts of sexual assault of a child."

Quayle म्हणाले...

“United Order, a voluntary form of communalism defined by Joseph Smith.”

Joseph Smith published what he claimed were revelations from God, in the book now called the Doctrine and Covenants.

This from Section 104 giving the theological underpinnings:

11 It is wisdom in me [i.e. the Lord – Joseph speaking or writing the voice of the Lord as he claims it came to him]; therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship;

12 That every man may give an account unto me of the stewardship which is appointed unto him.

13 For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.

14 I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.

15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

16 But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

17 For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

18 Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.

khesanh0802 म्हणाले...

Square composition leaves too much distraction from the subject at the top and bottom. Of course there is a time and place for every kind of crop. If you want square pictures you can use a Brownie camera. That's their natural format!

I really appreciate the clarity of your new camera lens/lenses. Worth every penny.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"My Grandmother spent her early childhood in Orderville and nothing but fond memories."

I'd love to hear any stories you might want to tell.

Quayle म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"Square composition leaves too much distraction from the subject at the top and bottom."

Only if you're bad at composition!

You might just as well say that the 4:3 aspect leaves too much distraction at the sides.

Quayle म्हणाले...

Then an implementation method is prescribed:

67 And again, there shall be another treasury prepared, and a treasurer appointed to keep the treasury, and a seal shall be placed upon it;

68 And all moneys that you receive in your stewardships, by improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you, in houses, or in lands, or in cattle, or in all things save it be the holy and sacred writings, which I have reserved unto myself for holy and sacred purposes, shall be cast into the treasury as fast as you receive moneys, by hundreds, or by fifties, or by twenties, or by tens, or by fives.

69 Or in other words, if any man among you obtain five dollars let him cast them into the treasury; or if he obtain ten, or twenty, or fifty, or an hundred, let him do likewise;

70 And let not any among you say that it is his own; for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it.

71 And there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the order.

72 And this shall be the voice and common consent of the order—that any man among you say to the treasurer: I have need of this to help me in my stewardship—

73 If it be five dollars, or if it be ten dollars, or twenty, or fifty, or a hundred, the treasurer shall give unto him the sum which he requires to help him in his stewardship—

74 Until he be found a transgressor, and it is manifest before the council of the order plainly that he is an unfaithful and an unwise steward.

75 But so long as he is in full fellowship, and is faithful and wise in his stewardship, this shall be his token unto the treasurer that the treasurer shall not withhold.

[And I would just add two things: (1) it takes a society of very self-mastered individuals to live such a way - it can only work voluntarily - and (2) though Mormons aspire to this and still believe that one day we will live this way, we must acknowledge that we are not presently living this way fully, and that we still have some distance to travel in that regard. But, we do have methods to take care of the poor among us, which work pretty well at meeting basic needs, but which must be acknowledged in relation to the above, to be bare minimum methods.]

rehajm म्हणाले...

I know. But which one. It's not full-on Holiday Inn, but something from that school of design.

The subject and banality of your photo brought to mind the work of Stephen Shore. Without knowing I wondered if by coincidence he had road tripped through town. After consulting the book of course! there are several images of Kanab, Utah from 1973 and several of the old signs from Main Street. Alas, none of the sign in question that I could see...



rehajm म्हणाले...

Here's a picture of Stephen's breakfast in Kanab, though.

Titus म्हणाले...

I am shocked their gas is much more expensive than here.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"When they say "food and drug" does that mean it is a restaurant and drug store? Or does the food just mean you can buy snacks?"

If you click through to the Yelp page, you'll see 29 pictures of the store, most of the aisles inside. It's a store that combines food store, hardware store, and drug store. It looks very well kept.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent म्हणाले...

I doubt the sign was shot at. Certainly not with a firearm. Even a .22 would have easily penetrated a sandwich board like that.

ceowens म्हणाले...

On NC 211 just outside of Southport, NC there was, until this year, an old quick stop with a generic “Worms & Coffee” sign. Of course, my photo was never taken and now the building has succumbed to the new shopping center adjacent. I don’t know how long it will last but if you go to Google Earth Streetview at 33˚ 58' 19.82" N, 78˚ 07' 50.45" W you can still see it. Moral of the story – Stop and take the damn picture.

gspencer म्हणाले...

It was the "DRUG" part of the sign that got my attention.

robother म्हणाले...

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, translated into the Mountain Time Zone.

buwaya म्हणाले...

This is Althouse at her best.
Something prosaic, but not quite, at second glance, leads to "the rest of the story" and a little bit of obscure background that probably shouldn't be obscure, which leads to a whole lot of profound questions.

Anyway, the one sign I regret not taking a picture of, was from back in 1986, just arrived in SF; an Armenian deli (they had an "Armenian Pizza", very good but it wasn't a pizza) had a doorside sign - "Bagels and Kimchi". Only in America I thought.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Quayle said...
Joseph Smith published what he claimed were revelations from God, in the book now called the Doctrine and Covenants.


Apparently god hasn't learned anything about economics or genetics over the past 2,000+ years.

khesanh0802 म्हणाले...

@Ann I am just averse to change. Particularly change being required by computer engineers! We do tend to look at scenics with our vision wider than a square as is natural with our eyes. As you say it is really up to the artist to decide the format he wants to use.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

The cold, hard truth is this: Socialism only works with a people who are righteous and good...

This is ominous; Unknown's comment implies that Heaven, the place Christians want to go, is basically North Korea. When I was a child and going to church I participated in a few discussions regarding the afterlife, and they left me dreading every possibility offered. I must clarify that Presbyterians do not, as a rule, discuss these things. Presbyterian worship is a kind of half-assed group therapy and like all such exercises, the measurable result is a beaming smile and a kindly disposition that lasts 43.7 minutes. Nevertheless, children ask obvious questions about ancient doctrines are more than usually opaque, and those who field those questions are less than thoroughly indoctrinated, i.e. amateur volunteer "Christian educators" who teach Sunday School and have that office mainly on the virtue of showing up. Accord to one of these the hereafter is either eternal Nork-style regimentation, praising the Fearless Leader non-stop forever, or being deep fried in molten sulphur forever. Interminable Boredom is preferable to unceasing Agony, but come on, is that it? As I understand it the LDS have a more interesting eternal destiny — a kind of science fictiony afterlife involving sex and lording it over unruly populations on distant worlds. That, at least, is entertaining.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

It's a store that combines food store, hardware store, and drug store. It looks very well kept.

You could have compared it to a Munchkin-scale Walmart, but then Titus would gotten all provincial.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

I've eaten buffalo jerky numerous times and have enjoyed it, marginally. (Sometimes for fun I ask for bison jerky and get replies like "we don't have that, just buffalo." Quaestor is easily amused, no?) However, the seasoning makes bison jerky virtually indistinguishable from beef jerky, at least to my palate. I have a friend who bags the limit of whitetail every year and eats the resultant venison almost daily. He makes his own venison jerky from the less tender bits and shares it with friends. I'm not sure whether it's the inherent flavor of deer meat or my friend's recipe, but the jerky is very delicious. Althouse and Meade should have bought some of the elk jerky on sale.

The gator jerky must be a local favorite in Orderville; it has that exotic character that reliably drives impulse buying. In South Florida alligator meat is ubiquitous. Tourists buy it. Floridians ignore it. From a culinary perspective, the alligator is a quadrupedal turkey with a nasty bite. As with turkey gator is the bland white meat that theoretically can be made to fill in for any other meat — steak, hamburger, ham, bacon — yet in practice tastes exactly like itself, which is why people like their gator well-spiced.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Quaestor said...
"The cold, hard truth is this: Socialism only works with a people who are righteous and good..."
This is ominous; Unknown's comment implies that Heaven, the place Christians want to go, is basically North Korea.


Well, no, since socialism doesn't actually work in N. Korea. The only place in the real world that "socialism works" is among the social insects (and some rare outliers). And the reason it works is that the vast majority of the "individuals" are sterile and are more closely related to each other than they are to their parents.

Unknown म्हणाले...

I'll have to disagree, Quaestor, about the "ominous" bit.

Christian theology is very clear. Heaven is an absolute monarchy; with God being the King. From Isaiah and Handel's Messiah :"And the government shall be upon His shoulders." Monarchy would be good if you could guarantee a good ruler. We can't on earth, which is why we shouldn't have kings. But God as our King? Why not?

What my comment was aimed at is the simple fact that in order for a communal society to work, everyone must buy in of their own accord. You cannot use force to impose communal living on people--they have to want it and be capable of living it on their own. You have to be the kind of person who genuinely does not care if your neighbor has more than you do. You have to be the kind of person who is content with what they have, and focus on other things.

It's a very, very hard thing to do for people, which is why communism -- forcing people to be equal -- is so evil.

As for your description of Mormon ideas of heaven.... I'll just say that you are wrong. I agree that the standard depiction of Christian heaven is also wrong. Jesus said He wanted us to be like Him. We are heirs of God and Joint Heirs with Christ. In short, the ultimate reward is to live the kind of life Jesus and God live, whatever that may be.

The whole "our destiny is to just sing praises to God" is completely off--why would God want that? He could just hook up some banging speakers and loop a soundtrack if that was what He was interested in. The whole point of praising God is so we focus on what God is like, and His virtues, so that we can try to emulate and become like He is, incorporating those virtues and qualities into our own lives.

--Vance

Titus म्हणाले...


"If you click through to the Yelp page, you'll see 29 pictures of the store, most of the aisles inside. It's a store that combines food store, hardware store, and drug store. It looks very well kept."

Oh, that is disappointing. I was kind of hoping for a restaurant inside.

I miss drug store combo restaurants wish bar stools and frappes.

buwaya म्हणाले...

"The cold, hard truth is this: Socialism only works with a people who are righteous and good"

Anything only works with a people who are righteous and good. No system, however ideal in any theoretical system, will give optimal or even acceptable results with a public culture that can't support it. The ideal system, regardless of checks and balances, legislated liberties or what have you, will be modified, reinterpreted or corrupted if that is what the people demand.

Lileks म्हणाले...

Yes, it's an old motel sign. It doesn't fit the style of the grocery store, so I assumed they knocked down something else and saved the sign.

Voila! The sign in all its original beauty, here.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2a/2b/0c/2a2b0cb2d095312f8522e6d7490aa405.jpg

Anonymous म्हणाले...

Ann -- I recommend the "American Sign Museum" in Cincinnati. I went there about a year ago and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Signs are such a fascinating part of our aesthetic and cultural history. I think you'd love it. -- Jessica

Tyrone Slothrop म्हणाले...

My favorite roadway sign that I didn't take a picture of was next to the 14 freeway in Antelope Valley CA. It was a church marquee that said:

JESUS I COME QUICKLY

rehajm म्हणाले...

Voila! The sign in all its original beauty, here.

Very nice! Thanks!

Bill म्हणाले...

I always smile at the Mormon use of 'gentile'. From a 1982 People magazine piece on Frank Mankiewicz:

[Frank] was living in Paris as a writer when a group of friends came to town, including Holly Reynolds. He had known her at UCLA, but she had been married then; now she was separated. “We had a terrific evening and I decided we were going to get married,” he says. She was a Mormon; he was a Jew. Both families were horrified. “Holly said, ‘My mother objects because you’re a Gentile,’ ” he recalls. “I said, ‘That’s odd. That’s what my mother says about you.’ ” Undeterred, the couple married in 1952.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"The subject and banality of your photo brought to mind the work of Stephen Shore."

Ha ha. Thanks. I appreciate that link.

Makes me want to post another picture of mine (of a motel nestled at the foot of a mountain).

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

@James Lileks

Thanks!

Will do an update to the post.

JaimeRoberto म्हणाले...

We did some grocery shopping at Terry's last summer on our way between Zion and Bryce. If I recall correctly, the jerky was way too expensive.

sane_voter म्हणाले...

This is the best set of comments at Althouse in a while, all due to some signs in a little town in Utah.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

Monarchy would be good if you could guarantee a good ruler.

I fail to see that as a given. You'll have to be A LOT more persuasive. A monarchy, even a benign and unerringly just monarchy, is still an imposition on my autonomy, and therefore in opposition to my natural rights. Secondly, what's the point of any kind of government in Heaven? Government exist for many reasons, one is the formulation, execution, and enforcement of laws. Laws derive from scarcity. There's no scarcity in Heaven. Or is there? Government exists to compel people to do what they are otherwise disinclined to do, such as pay taxes. What the heck would a celestial monarch do? If the blessed denizens of Heaven need a government, that implies they are disinclined to behave themselves.