6/25/2008

Cardboard Cops



In my hometown of Mobile, AL, we have growing litter problem in our streets, sidewalks, parks, etc. City leaders have tried to appeal to people’s pride in the city to help with the litter problem in the past. That didn’t work. They tried “Litter Pickup Day” downtown. That didn’t fare too well either. Entire Boy Scout troops have spent many a Saturday just picking up litter downtown. But, it seems by Monday morning, the same amount of litter was lying in the streets.

Enter the 8-foot-tall cardboard cops informing litterbugs how much of a fine they will pay, if caught, that are popping up around the city now in an attempt to bring the litter problem under control. So far, 6 signs have been placed strategically around the most traffic congested parts of the city. Each sign cost $200.00, which seems a bit excessive to me. How long will it be before people steal these things to show off as a trophy to friends? Probably not too long. There have been cardboard cops with radar guns for years. I admit, they startled me the first time I saw them. After a while, I ignored them until I realized REAL cops had taken their place one day. Revenue for the city of Mobile must have jumped 200% that day. Those cardboard cop/radar gun cutouts disappeared fairly quickly. I’m not sure if it they were taken down due to being ineffective, to trick speeders with the real thing (as mentioned above) or if they are just sitting in someone’s basement to provide laughter to the illegal owners. I suspect these new cardboard cops will have about as much effectiveness as their predecessors.

There’s no word on whether the cardboard cops get cardboard doughnut breaks.

5 comments:

As we slowly make our way to being a police state, I wonder how long it will be till we are like England with big brother watching for real all the time? Good post! Good luck on the upcoming surgery.

Yes, England with a camera at every corner watching, always watching. I believe those cameras did help them catch the terrorist train robbers a few years back.

Thanks for coming by. I need all the luck I can get for this surgery.

nice to read the candid human blog
I do not know which part of the world you are from but your blog attracted me I came to it through smiley traffic auto ads I a from India
keep up the pace of writing such beautiful things about the human aspect of life
I share your interests Are you interested in making money online and have burnt your ffingers carried away by hype?
Yes ,I have !
Could you share something on this if at all you feel intersted?
I am for the free stuff
I am from India
thanks
Keep up the good work
all the best

All the good luck for the coming surgery and all my prayers for quick recovery
Z
All the best
see you after your surgery
keep up the spirit carry on all be well

vijavendra

Thanks for the kind words. I am from the USA. I am afraid I cannot help you with making money blogging. I have tried several advertisement companies but not much luck with either one. Thanks again for your kind words.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...