Last night when I set out to go to KFC for some fried chicken, I was puttering down our road like I always do. When I got to the stop sign, I noticed my brake lights were illuminating something new on the side of the street behind me. There was someone coming up to the stop sign behind me, so I didn’t want to sit there and putz trying to see what it was that was different on my street.

On my way back from KFC, I made sure to go back home the same way, and as soon as I turned the corner onto my street, I could see quite plainly with my much brighter headlights that the new thing on my street was a very reflective speed limit sign. It caused a strange firing of neurons in my head, because there has never been a speed limit sign anywhere on our silly little two-block-long street. Exactly how fast can you go on a street that is only two blocks long and is barely wide enough for a standard pickup truck? Not very fast, though probably fast enough to break the all-new posted speed limit.

Yes, while the entire rest of the area holds to the usual 30 mph residential speed limit, that everyone knows even if it isn’t posted since it has been the law of the land forever, our short little sleepy street that just about no one drives down, except people who live here and real estate speculators, has a posted speed limit of 25 mph.

I know exactly who to thank for this new added bit of stupidity in my life: Crazy Neighbor Lady. Remember I said she’d joined the ridiculous neighborhood association? Yes, well she must be getting what she wants out of them, if that sign is any indication. She often runs out into her yard screaming at cars she thinks are driving too fast down our street. I’ve seen her do it many times, more times than I have seen anyone driving faster than 30 mph on our street. In fact, the only times I have ever seen anyone speeding down this little lane is when the Crazy Neighbors have been fighting and one of them takes off in a huff in the SUV. I’m secretly hoping her desire to have everyone abide by her wishes on how fast or slow to drive bites her in the butt on that regard one day. It’d be funny to see one of them get a speeding ticket.

So, it looks like she has managed to get her first wish: a slow speed limit (to protect whom, I do not know — no kids around here anywhere). I guess that also means she is busy blocking any hopes of getting street lights, sidewalks and curbs, because it would “ruin the neighborhood. I like the way it feels like we are living in the country.” Um, yeah, but in the country, there aren’t signs telling me to drive 25 mph. If we are going to have speed limit signs on our tiny little road, then I’d like street lights, sidewalks and curbs. Maybe I need to join that stupid neighborhood association after all, though I still maintain it would be best for me to stay far, far away from it (and her).

Next we need to decriminalize pot on our street, so what was going on in the driveway next door this morning wouldn’t be illegal. I wonder if she’s working on that as well. Why, we could create our own little city-within-a-city with our very own set of laws! If you can’t guess what I am talking about, find my LJ. I made a TXT post this morning.