Robert Lee begins his day with some fresh material. Friday’s sign reads: ‘Where did the Terminator find the Clorox wipes? Aisle B Back.’
“Lot of dad jokes go up there,” said Lee, whose large signage board changes daily.
It all started back in early July when Lee became fed up with the 2020 blues.
“People had very grim looks on their faces. Everyone had a lot on their mind.”
Lee wanted to change that. So after browsing online and spotting a restaurant in Texas use its signage for laughs, the Oak Bay retiree developed a plan.
“My goal was to put a new sign out every day so that the people who walk by every day have something different to look at.”
With his home located along a public trail, next to a golf course, finding an audience was easy. Hazel and Rod Braithwaite walk the trail every day and say the quirky messages add a positive step to their morning routine.
“It’s a little bit of a pressure relief,” said Rod. “You look forward to what it’s going to say when you come up the hill and you get a chance to see it.”
“My personal favourite is ‘what if there were no hypothetical questions?’,” said Hazel.
Lee sources the jokes and puns mostly from the internet, but occasionally from the odd novelty T-shirt or mug. He hasn’t missed a day yet, and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“If they have an opportunity to smile, even just this one time a day, it’s great. I think it’s important,” said Lee.
Hazel says she looks forward to many more walks and many more laughs.
“I think it’s wonderful that he takes the time out of every single day to do something to put a smile on people’s faces.”
Kevin Charach
