Bumps, Humps and Missed Opportunities

I snapped this photo in Santa Cruz, thinking it was a clever play on "baby bumps" — the early indication that a woman is pregnant (in this case, with a lovechild?).

'Love Bump Ahead'

It turns out "love bumps" can also mean herpes, so I'm not sure what to make of this now. (Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out what "lovely lady lumps" means.)

In Berkeley, the city distinguishes between regular old "speed bumps" and the less-aggressive kind used to slow traffic on neighborhood streets — "speed humps."

The picture above was taken in South Berkeley near San Pablo Park, and I was flabbergasted to find the sign in pristine condition (especially given how the neighborhood treats stop signs).

Talk about an opportunity for riffing by graffiti artists! What's going on, guys? Even a "that's what she said" would suffice — though it might be hard to fit on the sign.

(In Sacramento, they refer to these things as "undulations"; perhaps to remove any temptation to be clever at all.)

I had a similar reaction when we lived near Ritch Street in Mission Bay.

It would take so little effort to turn the sign into "Bitch Street," and think of the joy that would bring to innumerable passers-by (especially those with the maturity level of, say, me). And yet, to my knowledge, no one ever did.

Maybe even street vandals would prefer not to go after the low-hanging fruit.