Yesterday at the rec center I noticed the profusion of little pink signs saying "Do not put feet on the wall." From my perch on the elliptical machine I could see at least a dozen of them, and if I'd turned around, I would have immediately fallen on the floor and broken both my ankles, but that's beside the point. The point is that it is impossible to get to that room without passing many copies of the infamous pink sign prohibiting people from stomping all over those nice clean walls, but somehow that's not enough: every little spot of wall must be likewise decorated with a pink sign, suggesting that the campus is crawling with people just looking for an unprotected square inch of wall on which to prop their feet: "Look--they missed a spot! Pink signs abound to the right and left, but I'm sure no one will mind if I put my feet on the wall right here!"
How many times must the Powers That Be scream in garish pink that the walls are the wrong place for feet to be put? Likewise, how many times must they warn against spitting in water fountains, with multiple exclamation points reinforcing the urgency of the message? How many signs would it take to stifle the urges of all those serial wall-stompers and fountain-spitters, not to mention wearers of inappropriate T-shirts or those dastards who dare to wear street shoes in the building?
If 20 signs are not sufficient, will 30 work? How about 130? 1300? Why don't we just paper the walls with prohibitions? Then we wouldn't have to worry about keeping the walls clean because we wouldn't be able to see them.
1 comment:
Signs like that would make me want to put my feet on the wall. Just to see what the fuss is all about.
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