By Sylvia Rubin
The handwritten note isn’t dead in Berkeley. We’re not talking about thank-you notes. We’re talking about “Please Don’t’’ signs.
Here in Berkeley, when we scold our neighbors, we add a little extra flourish. The signs shown here were spotted over a period of time, mostly in North Berkeley.
There’s more than one way to ask people to behave themselves. You can simply be polite and ask them not to pick your lemons — or you can whine about how hard you worked to grow them.
You can ask dog owners to do the right thing — or you can etch the request permanently into the concrete. Maybe you’re ticked off about someone stealing your security light bulbs? And you happen to be a nice nurse? Well, just let those perps know who they’re dealing with!
Peace and Love still count for something in Berkeley — so, while technically not a “Please Don’t’’ sign, I‘m touched by the writer who put forth such a sweet request for orphaned rocks. I love the different writing styles, and the unintentional humor in some of these signs — at least I think it’s unintentional.
And if you were wondering what the offending toxin was in that last photo? It was a small bottle of Clorox.
Berkeleyside publishes many articles every day. To see all our stories in chronological order, and read ones you may have missed, check out All the News.
