Sometimes I Notice Things…
…Often it is only subconsciously and it takes a while for it to filter through to the surface. Case in point:
I come home from work on a day just like any other. I grab the mail, shuffle thru the usual stack of junk mail and bills, notice nothing of any real interest and toss it all on the table.
For the next few days the pile just sits there. One bit of junk mail poking out in all of it’s orange and blue glory telling me to “stop…”
Stop what? heck I don’t know, “stop ignoring this bit of cellulose flotsam!” “Stop by and buy one of our great new things that You Really Can’t Afford To Live Without?” “Stop sitting on your ass and go the gym?” Heck I don’t know I really didn’t pay it much attention.
Then one day, let’s call it yesterday, I push that pile of mail out of the way so I can actually use the table for what it was made for: eating at.
This time the full spectacle of the orange and blue glory catches my eye.
I pause, plate of Shake N Bake chicken in hand, transfixed by the absurdity thereby presented for my viewing pleasure. Here we have a piece of junk mail advertising a way to get rid of junk e-mail. How
wonderfully ironic!
I drop the junk mail about stopping junk e-mail and dig into my rather tasty boneless breast of Shake N Bake, thoroughly bemused by this bit of unintentional humor that dropped into my mailbox just the other day. And it got me thinking about another oddity I ran into a few weeks ago at work.
The company I work for has gone through some hard times and has “lost” a large portion of it’s workforce over the past few years. Because of this the credit union decided we no longer deserved a part-time presence on site and left. they took their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) with them. This annoyed everyone, including Human Resources. Surprisingly enough HR actually did something about it and had another ATM installed in a month or two.
The fine folks who now charge us a buck fifty to take money out of our account thoughtfully provided a sign to point out that there was an ATM right where there had been one for the last couple of years. It is a lovely sign.
In case you are wondering if the ATM was put in the basement, the answer is no. The whole place looks like that. Painted brick and cinder block. Painted about a million times since it was built in 1940.. Cool huh?
The first time I noticed the sign I thought nothing of it, but the second time it struck me.
Look at the sign and see if you can tell what is wrong.
Every time I pointed out this “problem” to any hapless cow-orker that wandered by while I was in the vicinity, their response was to look at me as if I had rocks in my head (I do) and then reluctantly agree that I had a point while walking away shaking their head. Think about it for a minute before you scroll down.
Got it yet?
If not, what does “ATM” stand for?
(HINT: re-read this page.)
So what this sign is saying is “[here is an] Automated Teller Machine Machine”
Now aren’t you glad you took the time to read this?
–Originally posted before I added WordPress to this site. Published date is approximate.