Gritty, Blue-Collar Mini Stop Sign Takes It On The Chin Like a True Chicagoan

Photo credits - (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

By Lexington Concord Jr.

BACK OF THE YARDS - Standing tall and proud in the middle of a neighborhood crosswalk, a miniature reflective plastic stop sign embodied the hard-working spirit of Chicago last Wednesday.

Refusing to yield to the brutal snow and rain and never backing down from multiple front-bumper impacts, husky and brawling in its own way, the fiberglass totem absorbed the blows like a young Honey Boy Bratton.

"I am here," it declared in a powerful voice that summoned the very winds of Lake Michigan. "Stop your car, there are people crossing the street," the beacon commanded in a Studs Terkel voice.

An immovable object in that big-shouldered city by the lake, as tough as Dick Butkus against the Packers and as sturdy as the railways themselves, the sign served as a guiding light to all who saw it and dreamed of a brighter future.