Do you know where Pouce Coupe is, or what it means? No, I’m guessing. Well, -Pouce Coupe means Cut Thumb, I’m told. As for where it is, you can look it up on your device. If you are a Peace River-ite, you don’t need to.
On the west side of that town, they have a one dimensional plywood facsimile of an RCMP cruiser, attached to a roadside fence. It is life-sized and, from a distance, very realistic, right down to the fluorescent markings which light up in the dark. Even if you have been there a thousand times, you still reach for the brake every time you see it.
Maybe they have those elsewhere, but I haven’t seen another one, so that one sticks out in my mind. But what sticks out more than the fake police car is the caption they have underneath, which reads: “All those who hate speeding tickets, raise your right foot.” How clever is that? Even if I live to be a hundred, and even if that sign disappeared thirty years ago, I will never ever speed in that town again. That’s how effective it is…it makes me laugh, and it makes me not speed through Pouce Coupe. I’ll bet that sign cost less than two hours of a real cop sitting there. (Well, now I’m thinking of it, a real cop would probably generate 3 grand in revenue in two hours, but that’s another story).
By comparison (who can resist?), the Ontario road signs sound like they came from the propaganda department of a totalitarian nanny state. Such gems as: If you can’t see, don’t pass. Or, “Fatigue kills. Take a break.” And many more, all on drab, blue little signs. They even have a cop on video on the Tobermory ferry, wagging his finger at all of us. Makes me think of that fat little guy in North Korea.
It being Ontario and all, you’d think they could outdo Pouce Coupe in the signage department. Maybe try a little originality, or levity, or something less like jail-house notices. Maybe something that has some effect, like the Pouce Coupe sign. But no, they gotta sound like the Rocket Man. If I were a teenage kid, I’d carry a can of spray paint.
Oh well. It’s a moot point anyway because I’m too old to speed any more. We are doing old person stuff in Peterborough: visiting old friends, tidying up the house, fixing things. We would go out for some exercise but it’s raining. Maybe tomorrow.
In the meanwhile, we are off for dinner with friends, and hopefully an early bedtime. Hope you all are so lucky.
Do not speed in Pouce Coupe.
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