Very nearby, we have both a Mennonite and Amish community. Moreover, the entire Blackstone Valley is religious. We have churches of every Christian denomination and more than one of each. No synagogues. This is definitely a Christian area.

It isn’t unusual to see signs on a lawn along any road in the valley, but this sign stopped me. Signs are always located near a building. It could be a home, a church, even a business or workshop. This sign was alone on a street corner in Milford.

It said “An ungodly man diggeth up evil.”

It wasn’t a handmade sign but a proper stamped metal sign, the kind which might direct you to a public building or park. That the sign existed was no surprise, but its location was peculiar and oddly unsettling. Garry memorized it and later, I punched it into Google to see what popped up. I suspected it was a quote, probably biblical. I was right.

At whom is this quote aimed? Who put it on that corner in Milford? Why? What does it mean? Is it political or anti-political? I looked for interpretations. Despite variations in wording, the interpretations were all pretty much the same. This section was the most apt and relevant. It is a segment from a much longer explanation.

Envy and cruelty control them. They live in constant envy, resenting others’ superiority. They are losers. They justify their existence by destroying reputations an think themselves righteous though their hearts are more wicked than their victims. They are cruel without regard for the pain and damage they cause.

I will probably never know where the sign came from or why it was put on a random corner in Milford. I will always wonder what they were thinking when they put it there and at whom it was aimed. It could be either end of the political spectrum or completely anti-political or, for all I know, both.

I guess I’ll just have to keep wondering. I suspect whatever you believe, you can assume this sign was meant for “the other guy.” Or your guy.

Or you.

Categories: #Photography, Anecdote, Blackstone Valley, perspective, Quotation, You can't make this stuff up

Tags: #Photography, Marilyn Armstrong, meanings, odd moments in ordinary places, quotation, signs