The sign

Forty. Forty. Forty. The speed limit sign flashed its outrage at the passing car. The speed limit is thirty five miles per hour. That car was doing forty miles per hour. It flashed its outrage and nobody cared. Every day, every hour, every car. The speed limit sign measures the speed of each car and shows the speed on its big LED-lit display. If the speed is above thirty five miles per hour then the sign flashes the number instead of simply displaying it. It’s been hanging there for fifteen months. For the regular drivers of this road the sign has become part of the landscape and nobody seems to pay any attention to it. The sign doesn’t care. It has a job to do. Thirty-eight. Thirty-eight. Thirty-eight.