What exactly is this road sign?

I’m sure we’ve all seen this road sign. I know it means “construction zone” so drivers should be careful. I can also see it’s a man holding “a shovel” but for the life of me I can’t make sense of the image. Does anyone actually have a shovel that looks like this one? What am I missing here?
NM_TM114A wikipedia page offers some suggestions. It may be a guy shoveling a pile of dirt, or lifting something out of a hole. Unless the designer comments on this post, I suppose I’ll never really know.

-Out of the Wilderness

My dad used to drink and drive

dont-drink-and-drive-sign-k-8676When I was a little kid, I often saw commercials that said, “Don’t drink and drive,” and then I’d see my dad drinking while he was driving. It was usually on long trips to visit family in Florida that I remember this happening. And with 4 rowdy kids in the back with no batteries in their Gameboys, could you really blame him?

But before I get in trouble with my dad, I’ll make it crystal clear for you; he didn’t drink alcohol while he was driving. It was usually coffee or ice water. But all I remember from those TV ads is the warning, and so I thought my dad was breaking the law every time we had a family vacation.

I should’ve spoken up. You know, so I wasn’t aiding and abetting a felon! But then I’d find batteries between the crack in my seat and start playing Tetris.

-Out of the Wilderness

Frog Time

This image appeared on the passenger side window of my car after cranking up the A/C one morning. I’m guessing it was a from a frog who settled there the night before.
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Me and My Dad: 34 years ago and now

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Ben 2, Dad 34
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Ben 36, Dad 68

Bad drivers and my dramatic experience with one

I came across another driver in Nashville that thought he owned the road. It wasn’t this guy, though:  NERD ALERT: It was me! I’m actually pretty embarrassed by what I did. I’ve decided to punish myself by exposing my mistake to the world. I’ll explain more after you see the dash cam video, here:  Explanation: When I’m driving, I can be a bit short-tempered. I don’t have a high tolerance for people who are indecisive, make the wrong decisions, or mess with my agenda in any way. It’s a fault, I know. I’m working on it, and that’s mostly why I decided to upload my embarrassing act on YouTube; to publicly shame myself. As you can see in the video, the lady in front of me needed to change lanes. I assumed she was about to miss a left turn and didn’t want to simply go down to the light and make her way back properly. So I let her have it, laying on the horn for nearly 5 full seconds!

Who does that?

Then, to ice the cake, I decided to pull out ahead of her. That’ll teach her a lesson! I did so, as you saw in the video, and very quickly realized the reason she was stopped: the third lane was being used as street parking! I was so embarrassed and full of shame. Instead of teaching her a lesson, I got schooled on being a jerk, judging too quickly, and acting like a real idiot. Ironically, the song playing on my stereo was GNR “Patience.” What scares me about this: I wasn’t even mad, so this must be habit. Ayiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi I need to change!

Whoever you were, lady driver on West End, I’m sorry. I was wrong and I know that.
-Out of the Wilderness