I don't know what the problem is with The Man but he seems to have a huge issue with B.O.S. Otherwise known as BIG ORANGE SIGNS !!! (I could say BFS but that is not very lady like). Do you happen to remember several weeks ago I wrote about The Man not paying attention to the B.O.S. (BIG ORANGE SIGN) that sat smack dab in the center of a road we were on. That particular sign said, "ROAD CLOSED". The sign was LARGE, and the sign was ORANGE, a combination that is pretty hard to miss as you drive down the road. We were not traveling at warp speed or the speed of light, we were driving about 35 miles an hour and yet The Man did not choose to read the sign or if he DID read the sign he choose to ignore it. And then complained for DAYS that the road was closed but no one told him!!
Moving on to todays adventure . . . There is a small bridge on the "highway" going through the next town, Rapid River. The bridge is old and apparently in dire need of repairs. Last month the highway department put up some BOS going through Rapid River warning they were going to close one of the two lanes on the bridge for repairs. They warned there would be "POSSIBLE DELAYS". We all know what that means. Well true to their word they did indeed close one lane and put up a traffic light that allowed cars to take turns crossing the bridge on the one open lane. It was NOT nearly as bad as we expected especially since it is the middle of the summer and the highway is a main route for tourists coming and going across the UP. At most we were inconvenienced thirty SECONDS on any of our several trips back and forth to Manistique for pulmonary rehab. The closure lasted maybe two weeks and then as suddenly as it appeared it was gone. Much to the delight of The Man. (There were no problems associated with the road work but The Man just does not like change of any kind.)
Fast forward to Last Thursday's trip to Manistique. There, by the side of the road in the middle of Rapid River, stood a NEW B.O.S. (Big Orange Sign). This sign announced that road work would resume on Monday, August 22. "EXPECT DELAYS". OK, NO biggie . . . the last bit of road work wasn't bad at all so we can just roll with it. NOT !!!! The Man began to stress all day because there was going to be MORE road work. Then he forgot about it and went on with his life.
UNTIL this morning when, at 10 AM we approached Rapid River and the B.O.S. said, "ROAD WORK AHEAD" (Now let me take a moment to tell you that when I say "traffic" I am NOT referring to traffic that most of us are familiar with from either the Long Island Expressway or I 95 at rush hour. The definition of traffic in the UP is anything more than 2 cars. When in a "traffic Jam" in the UP you may have to wait all of 3 seconds but that is rare. We are not talking about 3 HOUR delays in bumper to bumper traffic as you inch your way along a two mile stretch of road. ) So there we were approaching the B.O.S. and The Man is starting to panic. "We're going to be late", "Damn road work", "What are they doing now????" All of this is being said as we continue to roll through Rapid River and over the bridge where there is NO road work. Not a single worker to be seen, no traffic light and no closed lanes on the road. Next second we see another B.O.S. telling us we are leaving the work zone. I do believe The Man was actually disappointed that there was no road work.
But we are not done . . . We still have to make the return journey after rehab.
It is now about 12:30 in the afternoon as we once again approach Rapid River on our return trip home. About a mile outside of town what should our wondering eyes see but, yes, a BIG ORANGE SIGN !!!! Standing right there on the side of the road telling us, you guessed it, "ROAD WORK AHEAD". Did The Man see the sign? Or did he just choose not to believe it because they had lied to us earlier on our way to Manistique? I honestly can't say but when we suddenly came around a curve in the road and found ourselves in a line of traffic about THIRTY cars long The Man said, and I quote, "WHAT THE HELL ??? THERE MUST BE AN ACCIDENT!"
HELLO OOOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOO. Did you not just see a BIG ORANGE SIGN telling you there was ROAD WORK AHEAD ????????????????????? Did I say that out loud? Of course not! I"m not stupid. Instead I muttered something like, "Oh Wow, how about that!" and then began composing this blog in my head because it was just TOO good not to share.
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