Friday, February 28, 2014

Speech topics from near your neighborhood




















Speech topics can come from anywhere. Next to a corner I drive by south of Boise there is a white concrete bench in the front yard of a house. Last week something new appeared -  a gold Buddha statue sitting on that bench. Why was it there? Once I quit thinking like an adult, a possible answer was clear.



































One road in front of that house runs basically east and west. Looking west and downhill, it bends to the left just before their driveway. Looking east, the intersecting road runs off to the south.

To a skateboarder that bench must have looked like part of an obstacle course starting with the driveway. Adding the statue kept him from doing a grind on the front edge. There are other artistic solutions or deterrents for preventing skateboard damage. The battle between thoughtless fun-seeking kids and adults continues.   

Why was the bench there? Perhaps to keep pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders from taking a straight line shortcut across the corner of the lawn (rather than following the curved sidewalk). 



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