When parents talk about having a child who is ill or struggling, nonparents often take the wrong message. They think, Thank God I was spared all that pain. If I can’t order up the precise specifications for my child, the condition in which he emerges, the choices he’ll make, if I can’t be assured that he’ll skirt the dangers that await him, maybe it’s better not to have children at all.
Those of us who know the airless terror of the 10 steps between the second you first glimpse your child’s surgeon through the glass doors and the moment he’s standing in front of you, delivering the verdict—we don’t think this way. Each time one of ours is ill or in pain, we think, Thank God I am here for him.
Ach, lassie…what is the meaning of the sign “changed priorities ahead?” It reminds me of the only time we were ever in Edinburgh. Coming away from the Edinburgh Castle, I asked a parking attendant, who was removing money from street meters, how to get to St. Andrews. Even though he repeated it twice, I still didn’t understand what he said except that it had something to do with crossing the Firth of Forth, and I knew that before I asked.
Tom – Yes, you’d think if we all spoke English it would be OK. I wonder if they find us as tricky to understand as we do them. I believe that “changed priorities ahead” means that they have lanes that switch direction depending on the time of day, the better to accommodate rush-hour traffic. Of course, it could be just a comment on life in general . . .
Got a chuckle out of the Inuvik sign – I’ve lived in a few towns in my life for which that sign would be quite appropriate.
Alison – I expect there are quite a few towns that could use such a sign, but maybe most aren’t up to admitting it.
Isabel
I consulted with a friend who emigrated from Edinburgh and still has a flat there. Here’s his reply as to the sign’s meaning.
“I haven’t seen it, but I think it indicates that the right of way has changed at a round about or such. I don’t think they announce alteration to government policy this way, although maybe more people would notice if they did!!â€
Tom – Actually, that makes better sense. Good job! It’s like Red Green says – We’re all in this together.