John Sheda

Do you remember those old Burma Shave signs of yesteryear? Going down the highway and a series of four or five signs, each one with one line of some cute, yet poignant bit of Americana prose for you and I to read and enjoy as we traveled down the highway. That and checking out all the license plates of cars from different states was about all there was to do back in those dayes. No CD player, FM radio stations, air conditioning, smart phones, I-pads, DVD players or anything to make those trips go faster. Yepper, just Burma Shave signs and out-of-state license plates was all we had. Here are some of those old signs to shake up your memory blanks. Enjoy!!

Passing School Zone; Take it slow; Let our little; shavers grow

Don’t stick your elbow; Out too far; It may go home; In another car

Cautious rider; To her reckless dear; Let’s have less bull; And a little more steer.

Around the curve; Lickety-split; Beautiful car; Wasn’t it?

No matter the price; No matter how new; The best safety device; In the car is YOU.

Brother speeder; Let’s rehearse; All together; Good morning, Nurse.

The midnight ride; Of Paul for beer; Led to a warmer; Atmosphere.

Drove too long; Driver snoozin’; What happened next; Was not amusin’.

At intersections; Look each way; A harp sounds nice; But it’s hard to play

Car in ditch; Driver in tree; The moon was full; And so was he.

You see, before there were all these nice interstates, all of us drove on those old two-lane roads and we periodically saw these kind of Burma Shave signs in farmer’s fields. They were small red signs with white letters. Five signs, about a hundred feet apart, each with part of the phrase written on them and the obligatory 5th sign advertising Burma Shave, which was a popular shaving cream of that time.

Well, in closing this week, I made up my very own Burma Shave poem.

I get what I get; I don’t throw a fit; ‘Cuz Deb just tells me; the way I see it.

Ah, That’s The Way I see it.

Let me know your thoughts at jsheda@indytel.com or call me at 319-332-4640. Have a great week.