Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Signs of Jamaica

Traffic signs:
  • ARRIVE ALIVE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.
  • PROTECT YOUR HEAD, DON'T END UP DEAD, illustrated by a picture of a motorcycle going off in one direction while its rider takes a conk on his helmeted head.
  • SPEED KILLS. DON'T BE IN A HURRY TO ENTER ETERNITY.
  • KEEP FATALITIES DOWN. DRIVE, RIDE, AND WALK GOOD.
  • GIVE WAY = Yield.

Other road signs:

  • Only fools break safety rules.
  • Children our future - Watch out for them on the road.
  • NO SMOKIN ~ We thought at first that the "G" had fallen off, but on second thought...Maybe not?
  • Have a COOL day.
  • PROUD TO BE JAMAICAN ~ A caricature of a horse head saying "Yeh, Mon."

Billboards:
  • Spruce up Jamaica. Nice up Yourself ~ Some sort of tourist promotion?
  • My Life Soon Set with Lotto.

Business names:
  • Stronger for Longer ~ Name of a battery store.
  • Choice Cut for Choosy People ~ Deli, grocery, meat store.
  • Haberdashery ~ I'm not sure I've ever even seen a haberdashery store, but in Jamaica they abound, a holdover, I suppose, from their recent British past.
  • Liquor and Ice Cream ~ The store with something for everybody.
  • Long and Strong ~ A party store.
  • FDR ~ Franklyn D Resort.
  • Art's Car Park ~ I saw several of these, kinda like a chain business. I never could figure out if it was a parking lot or a car dealer, but at least it rhymes.
  • Devon House I Scream, Devon House I Cream ~ The Baskin-Robbins of Jamaica, I'm guessing.

And, the WINNER! Seen at a gas station:
  • NO NAKED LIGHTS = "No Smoking."

1 comment:

. said...

I've seen a haberdashery. Never a battery store, though.