Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

“The image is one thing and the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to an image..." ~Elvis Presley, American singer (1935-1977)

The big two-toned green Oldsmobile rumbled along the Old National Pike (Route 40) toward Ohiopyle State Park. I sat in the back seat between my two older sisters: Bonnie and Linda. My family never took vacations, finances being what they were, but once and awhile we would take a day trip. Today we were off to see the waterfalls at Ohiopyle.

The falls are created by the Youghiogheny River Gorge which the locals affectionately refer to as “The Yough” (pronounced “Yawk”). The trip was only an hour or two, but to a youngster my age it seemed like an eternity. The only solace I had was we always stopped somewhere to eat…and I was hungry.

We passed the village of Hopwood and crossed Lickhollow road headed toward Braddock's Grave State Park and Fort Necessity after which we would turn north on Rt.381 toward Ohiopyle. A sign came into view: “Uncle Charlie’s Tavern and Restaurant…5 miles” a clear indication it was time to start whining that I was hungry. A mile later we passed another sign: “4 Miles to Uncle Charlie’s…Good Eats”. I started squirming. Minutes later another… “Uncle Charlie’s…Best Food on the National Pike.” The signs had my attention. “Dad? Can we stop? I’m hungry”

The distance between signs began to shorten; the messages coming in staccato rhymes akin to the Burma Shave ads of the 50’s. “Are you hungry?” “It’s time to eat.” “Uncle Charlie’s can’t be beat.” Or, “When it comes to food, don’t be misled. Uncle Charlie’s is just ahead.” By now I was really hungry, whiney and annoying. I was told to sit still. We started up a steep grade. “Uncle Charlie’s only one mile ahead”. “Just ¾ of a mile to Uncle Charlie’s.” “World Famous Uncle Charlie’s Tavern and Restaurant just ½ mile.” The car continued to climb the grade. “Hope your hungry…Uncle Charlie’s is just ahead.” “Only one quarter mile to Uncle Charlie’s...Best Food in PA.” I was craning my neck to see over the front seat. We were nearing the top of the grade. “Only 1,000 Feet to Uncle Charlie’s.”

Just at the brow of the hill the road began to bend to the right. I looked past my sister Bonnie out the window to the left. There, on the other side of the road, was Uncle Charlie’s. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open.

At the back of the expansive parking lot of dust, debris and broken pieces of asphalt was a dilapidated, deserted structure. The porch and stairs were rotted. The clapboard siding was loose, scarred and falling away in places. The asphalt shingles (those which had not already blown away) were curled and broken. There were bare patches everywhere. The windows, those which were not boarded over, were broken. Graffiti decorated most of the flat surfaces. Atop the eave, which covered the porch, was a faded, weather beaten sign, hanging askew by its few remaining nails. “Uncle Charlie’s Tavern and Restaurant, Best Food on the National Pike”.

My sisters and I started laughing, clapping and pointing as Dad negotiated the gentle bend and headed back down the steep grade. We could see the backs of signs on the opposite side of the road which undoubtedly bore the same messages we had seen on our way up the hill. Guess we would be seeking nourishment elsewhere.
Signs are an important and sometimes necessary part of our lives. They provide us with useful information like the distance to our next destination or where food, gasoline or lodging can be found. Signs alert us to potential dangers ahead like slippery streets, dangerous curves or disappearing lanes. This information makes our lives easier, safer and promotes the public good.

There are, however, other signs which are not so helpful. These are the signs which we hang on one another. They read “Republican”, “Liberal”, “Christian”, “Arab”, “Immigrant”, “Fundamentalist” or “Minority”. Sadly these “signs” conjure immediate emotional responses and gross generalizations on our part. These knee-jerk responses are often the result of employing a kind of “bumper sticker” mentality as if we could make an accurate summation of a person or their world view in a few words.

We also hang out our own signs, though the messaging is usually much more subtle. These messages are conveyed by the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the houses we live in, the titles we bear, even where we sit in our favorite restaurant or at church. These signs feed and nurture our image…the personae we present to the world, but they do little to nourish our interiority (our "self"). Unlike our image, it is our interiority which sustains us, particularly during difficult times.

Uncle Charlie’s signs lead me to believe the restaurant we were approaching was a wonderful and inviting place where we could enjoy a great meal. The reality was it was vacant and valueless, void of any nourishment. The signs were enticing, but like the Siren’s Song they lead to a destitute place, completely lacking in sustenance.

Signs are simple messages lacking the depth of a healthy self-image. Signs are, at best, inadequate and at worst dangerous generalizations. We are called to be stewards of our interior life. It is this internal life which should produce our exterior image, not the other way ‘round.

T.S. Elliott once wrote: “The final temptation is the greatest treason to do the right thing for the wrong reason”. This can easily happen if we allow our exterior image to drive our actions. If we are stewards of our interiority; if it is well nourished and maintained, our actions will most often be "for the right reasons".

Signs fall down easily. A spiritually nourished interiority endures.

Dear God: Help me to be who I am and not stress over what I appear to be.

“A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.” ~Thomas Merton, American Trappist monk, poet, social activist, Catholic author (1915-1968)

© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.
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