Vintage neon signs

[Fading Fast]

Why in the hell do people shoot things that don't belong to them? I've been shooting since I was a small boy and if I had ever done such a thing there would still be a work boot protruding from my ahem.

My dad didn't say a lot, but respecting private property - not taking, stealing, damaging others or your own - was explained to me in two ways in his ineffably succinct manner. One, "how would you like it if someone took or damaged our house or took your baseball glove?" and, two, "that person's house, car, radio represents what they earned through their work, by the sweat of their brow - what would ever give you the right to damage or steal it?"

Bam, that was it - but message delivered / message received (and I have no doubt a boot or worse would have come my way had I not abided it). I, using an inaccurate shorthand, have said this was "drilled into my head," but to be fair, the explanation was there, the drilling was the reinforcing of the message. But most reasonable people of goodwill understand these shorthands.

Later in life, I learned the bigger-picture philosophical and political underpinnings of private property protected by a strong rule of law and, its inverse, the theory of collective property. Out of that came this personal shorthand (or tenet, to make it sound fancier): no (less) private property equals no (less) person freedom. Of course, philosophers from Aristotle, through Hayek to Sowell - with many others including our Founding Fathers - have written eloquently and compellingly on this issue.

I was far from the best kid, but I never stole, shoplifted or engaged in minor vandalism as many kids and some of my friends did. I get it - most of these are not, by any stretch, bad kids nor will they be bad adults (for many, it's just a phase, etc.), but, be it my upbringing or how I was wired, respecting private property was something I simply always did.

All that said (and over said), perhaps Woodtroll is right and those are just the holes from the neon tubes?


And staying with the theme of both ghost (I'm guessing it is in this case, but maybe not) and super-cool neon, how neat would it be to see the archer lit up on this one:

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep, those are the openings where the electrodes for each tube go thru to the transformers. While neon signs are certainly not immune to vandalism, it's more the humble road sign that seems to be the more inviting target for those with too much time and too many bullets on their hands.

Just from growing up in an area where a lot of people hunt, it isn't high-spirited young people who do this kind of thing. It's more often sour old men who are sore that, once again, they Didn't Get Their Deer.

 

[Fading Fast]

Yep, those are the openings where the electrodes for each tube go thru to the transformers. While neon signs are certainly not immune to vandalism, it's more the humble road sign that seems to be the more inviting target for those with too much time and too many bullets on their hands.

Just from growing up in an area where a lot of people hunt, it isn't high-spirited young people who do this kind of thing. It's more often sour old men who are sore that, once again, they Didn't Get Their Deer.

Wow ⇧, the few hunters I know are very, very careful and rules bound with their gun protocol that, that surprises me. But my sample is very small.

Only tangentially related, street signs, traffic signs, etc., get their share of vandalism and graffiti in NYC, but other than the very rare spray painting, mailboxes (the big blue ones on the street corner and those odd dull green relay ones, here and there) are treated with much more respect. I know there are severe penalties around doing anything illegal with the mail, but do you think this is why they seem to get much less vandalism and graffiti?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I suspect so. Plus the Postal Service tends to be very attentive to its facilities -- they're usually kept well-painted, illicit stickers and graffiti get removed regularly, and in general they give the appearance of something that's always being closely watched.

The Bell System used to be the same way about its facilities -- a vandalized payphone would usually be repaired within a day or so of being discovered -- but the many it's-dough-let's-go companies that have inherited its assets don't seem to care about much of anything except squeezing every possible nickel into their bottom line.

As far as hunters go, there are so many of them here, from all walks of life, that you get to see a pretty good cross section in any town. There are the by-the-book Mark Trail types, and there are the chuckleheaded "goin' upta deeah camp" types who will shoot at anything that moves, and a lot of things that don't. I knew some people who had a farm up the road here who would paint their horse with big orange spray paint letters reading H O R S E during hunting season, just in case.

 

[Fading Fast]

I suspect so. Plus the Postal Service tends to be very attentive to its facilities -- they're usually kept well-painted, illicit stickers and graffiti get removed regularly, and in general they give the appearance of something that's always being closely watched.

The Bell System used to be the same way about its facilities -- a vandalized payphone would usually be repaired within a day or so of being discovered -- but the many it's-dough-let's-go companies that have inherited its assets don't seem to care about much of anything except squeezing every possible nickel into their bottom line.

As far as hunters go, there are so many of them here, from all walks of life, that you get to see a pretty good cross section in any town. There are the by-the-book Mark Trail types, and there are the chuckleheaded "goin' upta deeah camp" types who will shoot at anything that moves, and a lot of things that don't. I knew some people who had a farm up the road here who would paint their horse with big orange spray paint letters reading H O R S E during hunting season, just in case.

In NYC, I would have agreed with you regarding the Post Office up until about ten or so years ago. While the street mailboxes are still - overall - in good shape, many of the post offices themselves (and it is uneven) are falling into disrepair. The lobbies (and the glimpses of the processing areas that you get) at some are rundown and filthy. To be clear, some, still are pretty well maintained, but others, like the one in our neighborhood, is in horrible shape.

Also, they seem to no longer enforce any real uniform standards for the workers. While most still wear what appear to be mainly pieces of a uniform, they are not always fully attired in "regulation" clothes and whatever they have on is not "ship shape," but in all states of care including ripped, torn and outright dirty and untucked / unbuttoned. While a few still seem to keep the full uniform in pin-neat shape, most don't.

The above is an honest attempt at factual observations - I'm not arguing about what should be, what the financial picture is of the P.O. or its workers, etc. / I'm just trying to fairly reflect what I see.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Might be simply a matter of size. Our post offices here are always well-kept, and the postal workers are as well. The days of the gray uniform with the peaked cap are long gone, of course, but you can usually tell a mail carrier from J. Random Dude pretty easily. Admittedly, I'm not fond of seeing any adult in shorts who isn't on a basketball court, but that's just me.

Here's an interesting history of the postal uniform. Interestingly, the trend to informalization of the mail carrier's attire began in the 1940s -- contrary to what you see in movies and TV shows, short-sleeve open-collar shirts were routinely worn by mail carriers in warm-weather months. The pith helmet in place of the regulation uniform cap was also introduced during this period, and you still see it today.

 

[KY Gentleman]

One of my family’s often told stories is when my aunt and uncle moved away on one of their trips home my cousin said, “we must be getting close to mamaws house ‘cause all the signs have bullet holes in them.”

 

[Fading Fast]

Another ghost neon:

And in its full glory:

 

[dh66]

Another ghost neon:

View attachment 112223

And in its full glory:

View attachment 112224

This is one of my all time favorites!

The last time I stayed there the lodge itself wasn't in the grandest shape, but it was still serviceable. Granted, that was about 15 years ago so a lot could've changed. Parts of the sign still light up as far as I know, but I'm not sure it winks anymore. The last few times I've been by have been in the day time, I haven't seen it lit in awhile. There's a couple of other good ones along that same stretch of highway, but nothing comes close to this.

The Bel Aire, which I think I've posted here before, is across the road from the Moon Winx. As you can see, it's way cool...but nowhere near as cool.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[3fingers]

 

[3fingers]

Not as much neon, but here's one for the tiki fans.

 

[3fingers]

HoJo's!

 

[3fingers]

 

[Fading Fast]

It's as if they invented neon just to do the perfect flamingo leg:

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Rob

 

[1mach1]

HoJo's!
View attachment 112317

I do miss the HoJo restaurants.

 

[1mach1]

It's as if they invented neon just to do the perfect flamingo leg:

View attachment 112377

Wow! That is awesome!

 

[3fingers]

 

[Fading Fast]

Putting a big/giant version of whatever your business sells - a paint can, coffee cup, donut, etc. - on your sign is a sure fire win.