ypsi~dixit

You need to come further down the road, Y. The Domino's on the cross/washtenaw split always has glorious flavor text, including such winners as "your mom goes to college" and "happy birthday Hot Jenny".

Mike's bookstore on Cross (further down from Domino's) tries their best as well, but falls short with such let-downs as "Nietze is Pietze" and "hey EMU marching band come play us a song" (referring to their annual march-a-thon)

The chiropractor on washtenaw (forget the name) has rather odd sayings as well, mostly religious-based phrases like the one around christmastime that basically said Atheists aren't welcome there (can't remember the actual words), but typically there are similar sayings on it, with a back-breaking twist

yard signs?! yes!
mine might read: COME WATCH THESE KIDS BEFORE I DUCT TAPE THEM TO THE GARAGE

You may enjoy playing with this: http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/.

The first time I saw a sign from this sight, about a year ago, it read something like: "For God's sake, would somebody please just give our president a bl*w j*b so we can impeach him!"

Big Mike: I am glad I made this post if for no other reason than to hear the wonderful phrase "glorious flavor text." :)

Glorious flavor text!

Yep, you are right. The Domino's occasionally has glorious flavor text--I remember the "Hot Jenny" message.

Mike's should be commended for playfulness, but yeah, I remember noting the misspelled philosopher's name and cringing. Plus I had not the slightest idea what "Nietze is Pietze" meant.

And you are right, the chiropractor down on Washtenaw also takes liberties with his sign, usually with upbeat New Agey messages, alternating with dire health warnings.

Amanda: I was having a sleepy morning till your hilarious comment made me laugh--thank you! :)

Brian: The Church Sign Generator is fun. Thank you for the link.

Oh, I also forgot the sign in front of the now-lamentably-closed Dollar Mania that reads, mysteriously, "Leslie" on one side and "Check Visor" on the other.

If I had to rank local signs based on personality quotient, I guess it would be:

1. Tios on Washtenaw
2. Mike's
3. chiropractor dude
4. Domino's by the Johnny Reb statue or whatever that statue is of
5. Walgreen's near the EMU stadium
6. Dollar Mania (OK, it never changes, but is a pleasant tidbit of surrealism)

From the "Why do I remember such things?" department... The Dollar Mania sign was part of an orchestrated wedding proposal from a guy to the object of his affection. He left a few clues for his girlfriend, including above the visor in her car, on the sign at Dollar Mania, and then had a huge hand-painted sign out in front of the Water Tower, asking her to marry him. There was a photo of that one in the Echo, I seem to recall, but I don't see it at the moment. I seem to think it was sometime in December. I believe she said "Yes".

Brian: you just solved a very long-standing mystery! A wedding proposal! Wow!

You know, I always thought it said "Check Visor" because....well, OK, here's what I thought: I though some half-drunken local artists had mischievously fiddled with and removed letters one uproarious night and just impishly created the mysterious "Check Visor" and "Leslie" while, you know, staggering around in a truck bed and laughing and throwing letters around and surreptitiously slugging beers and nearly breaking their neck by falling onto the asphalt.

That was the small narrative I'd created concerning the mysterious Dollar Mania sign.

You know, I thought it was one of those silly pranks that seems to be the epitome of hilarity and wit at the time....but in the cold light of morning is just......"Check Visor."

(searches Echo archives...)

Rats. Couldn't dig up the story you mentioned about the marriage proposal.

Who remembers the sign from Domino's last year that said "happy 4:20, Got munchies?" or something to that effect.