During my husband’s and my scouting trip to Santa Cruz during February of 2015, the winter during which Boston hit a new all-time snowfall high of 108.6 inches, the winter that sparked our decision to move to California, I became convinced, while hiking in a redwood forest, that I was being stalked by a mountain lion. Twenty-two months later, having lived in California for three months, I was delighted to encounter this sign at the edge of a UCSC student parking lot.

Proof that there are mountain lions nearby! As it turns out, they do not seek out people, especially not in the middle of the afternoon, so I was wrong about being stalked, but it wasn’t a complete impossibility. Apparently mountain lions are regularly spotted at UCSC, which is also built in a redwood forest, but no students have been lost yet.

This week, this very familiar sign was in the news.

In response to numerous queries of the ilk, Why are deer crossing signs placed at such unsafe crossing locations?, the Iowa DOT explained that the signs warn motorists that deer have been seen crossing there, rather than indicating to deer where they should cross, since deer do not read. It must be so much fun being someone who thinks deer read and follow signs! Or someone who cannot find the Pacific Ocean on a world map (29%), doesn’t know local television stations are available for free (30%), or believes the sun revolves around the earth (25%).* America is certainly great when it comes to imagination.

What sparked this sign blog was the message emblazoned on every electronic highway sign during our drive home from the San Francisco Symphony last night: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving. Although this refers to driving while tipsy, it put me in mind of driving while high, something that is becoming more common here, in advance of full legalization of marijuana, which takes effect in 2018. I’m often struck by how earnestly MJ users seem convinced that MJ is benign, healthy, joyful, and harmonious in all situations, even those involving control of moving vehicles. We’ve already had a driver eagerly explain to the cop who pulled her over, I’m not drunk, I’m just high. I heard a radio report from Colorado shortly after MJ was legalized there, in which someone experiencing his first legal buy asserted, It’s better than the second coming of Jesus. I can only surmise that he was not particularly religious.

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* Percentages of Americans.