LikeTheDew.com

You have to allow that putting up the letters on an outdoor signboard does not always fall to the highest paid person in the organization. But sometimes, you’ve got to wonder, does the boss ever look at these things? Can the boss even read? Down in Waycross Friday, the marquee for the Mall Cinema 7, communicated this enticing offer: HANGOVER – DRAG ME TO HELL – LAND OF THE LOST – GIFT BOOKS AVAILABLE.

As Weaver D. up in Athens once told me when describing a young man at a pastry shop fiddling with his nose ring while offering the sale of a glazed doughnut – “No thank you, but you have a nice day.”

Years ago we had a theater in the flat woods called The Roxy. The owner, Mr. Fossett, would assemble the letters for the marquee and put them in a box for Boomer, the head usher. Boomer’s gifts did not include spelling. He would climb a rickety wooden ladder to hang the letters in the order Mr. Fossett had them in the box. When he finished Mr. Fossett would step outside and direct Boomer where to put spaces between the words.

Maybe the manager at the Mall Cinema 7 could step outside to look at his marquee. On the other hand, if his top features are Hangover, Drag Me to Hell, and Land of the Lost, he might not care much about effective sign communication.