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You Pole Cat!

Some things just speak for themselves
Portland is home to many reclaim, re-utilize and refurbish, up-cycle, recycle shops.  One in particular has become a favorite haunt.  I’m always amazed at the creativity of people; taking what would have been thrown into the landfill and turned into pieces of art and function, totally repurposed.

One particular rainy day we were scouring our way through one such urban establishment and came across this “Pole Cat” sign.  With just a few well-chosen words, the cranky codger has passed on some sage advice.  (I may be stretching a few things, so with tongue in cheek, here goes….)

If you must chew snuff, (side note: nasty habit) have the common courtesy to not spit it in the drinking fountain.  Others use it and they really don’t want to see your unsophisticated practice floating around.  Next, don’t you know that stuff will clog the drain?  “Where has commonsense gone?” which is the essence of what this old guy is stating. 

pole-cat:  meat eating member of the weasel family with a foul odor

Nowadays we seem to be so caught up in ourselves that we forget how our actions will affect others.  Commonsense and common courtesy is pushed aside so that we can ladder our way on.  Stopping to engage our minds and applying a few simple lessons in basic consideration and civility would be welcome.

The moral of the story?  Don’t be a dumb polecat.  Employ a few niceties while going about this thing we call life.

Reclaiming commonsense one brick and comment at a time -

 Missy


Comments

  1. Love the sign! Living in the south for soooo many years, the sign is self explanatory to me. Where are most peoples manners? Sometimes I think they keep them in their back pockets with the snuff tin to sit on. Which shop is it you haunt? Love this post.

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    Replies

    1. I actually have a few faves: Rejuvenation, Old Portland Hardware and Montecello. Plus, there are so many other little hole-in-the-wall places. When we are wandering through different neighborhoods and see something interesting, we stop and peek in. A few weeks back we found a cool vintage/second hand shop in St Johns. I picked up a print of a Mission in California that we had visited several years ago, for only $2. Love finds like that! Thanks for reading...

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