When Signs Attempt Murder

Signs are all around us. Most of the time, they don’t kill you. If they are figurative, they warn of something horrid or wonderful in your future. But signs are meaningless if you are not around to see how life turns out. Why would the universe bother sending you one if it kills you?

Splat.

Wind can be a literal sign of a change in the weather. Remember Dorothy and the tornado? She ignored a sign of epic proportions. After her wild dream, she probably became an agoraphobic.

Last Thursday the wind blew all day. It howled down the mountains and roared along the Front Range. It assaulted my car while I drove to downtown Denver.

My husband, Danny, and I parked under Writers Square and emerged from the elevator at the same time as my daughter, who worked six floors up. We planned to stop around the corner at Overland Sheepskin to see my sister, Patty, before going to dinner.

We had to walk outside the building to reenter Overland.

Thunderous waves of wind blasted between buildings. It tore at our clothes. It’s a little know fact that Colorado’s wind speeds can hit way above hurricane force.

I had been released into the wild after six weeks of mending a broken wrist. Still unused to not wearing an air cast, my arm hung limp at my side.

We rounded a corner and passed a crepe restaurant. Although the wind carried warm air from the south, no one sat outside. No surprise there. I would imagine the windows would become decorated in a fine assortment of the egg concoction.

 

We passed the entry to their outdoor patio.

CLANG!

Their shoulder height, free-standing sign displaying their menu blew over on its face right in front of me.

I caught my breath as one of the servers dashed outside to pick it up. He must have heard the crash.

Two more steps and I would have been flattened. It would have smashed my left arm and hip. The concrete could have knocked me out. Not knowing what hit me, I could have been killed.

Later, we learned the highway and light rail had been closed. Authorities feared the enormous IKEA sign would blow off the building. It could have killed dozens. Now do you believe me about the wind?

Was the crash of the crepe sign a sign?

Of course it was literally a sign, but was the Universe trying to send me a figurative sign by almost killing me with a sign?

While we ate dinner, I wondered…

What was the Universe trying to tell me?

1. Wear body armor.

2. You are very lucky. Play the lottery.

3. No one messes with Mother Nature, not even you.

4. Buy stock in wind power.

5. Don’t ever walk by a crepe shop when it’s windy without two bodyguards.

6. You are a force to be reckoned with.

7. Stay home the rest of your life, like Dorothy.

8. Life has the power to blow your mind or blow you away.

9. Timing is everything.

10. Signs can kill. Eat more crepes.

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind. I couldn’t resist a little existentialism from my buddy, Bob.

What do you think?