Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?
(“Signs,” 5 Man Electrical Band, 1971)
Carl Addison Swanson often runs through the back of Staples High School — his alma matter — and the nearby Wakeman Field complex.
He counts 81 signs.
He classifies 15 as notices of past athletic team titles, records and scoreboards; 9 thanking donors to fundraising efforts, and 57 as “instructions” (traffic signs, and those indicating where to sit or stand, informing people they are on camera, and one noting how to behave at a game).
Perhaps, Carl suggests, just one is needed: “We are the Wreckers, and we are going to kick your ass.”
(Photos/Carl Addison Swanson)