January 7, 2023: Cram a Lot -

It's been many years since I drove out Washington Route 12 to Aberdeen, and some things have changed. The drive along the Humptulips River, the Black River, and the Wynoochee, is still beautiful; the fields and forests are still wet and lush.

The occasional cannabis billboards, though, are new since my last trip. There are a fair number of puns, a few very straightforward names like, "Sweetleaf," and one jumbo sign which reads:     

KUSH SO DANK, YOU WILL SAY 'WHOA....' "

I want this in the Living Dictionary, but I'm not sure under what.  There's "Lingo," I suppose. But I kindof want it under something like "Look, if you have to ask...." or maybe, "I wasn't talking to you."  

I stopped in Montesano to see if the Beehive Restaurant still existed, and it's there, but dark, with faded signs directing deliveries to another address. It closed during the early pandemic, but the barista across the street believes new owners will reopen it soon: people have been going in and out. We lived in Cosmopolis long ago, and the Beehive, though it was a ways away, was a bright light of diner goodness.

Around the corner from the Beehive is an auto repair shop where the owner has decorated his chain link fence with many a statement sign.  

VOTE DEMOCRAT, STAY POOR, for instance. 

And 

I IDENTIFY AS NON-BIDENARY.

This admission does not surprise me one little bit.  

Also: 

YOU THINK IT'S OFFENSIVE? 

I THINK IT'S FUNNY.

THAT'S WHY (in red letters) I'M HAPPIER THAN YOU.  

I'm going out on a limb, here. I don't think he's happier than me. 

My second favorite sign was a letterboard outside the Hoquiam Liquor Store, which read:

SINGING TO YOURSELF? 

WE CAN FIX THAT!

It's like a koan.

And then there's my very favorite sign, which WAS there the  last time I drove by, maybe twelve years ago. CRAM a Lot Self Storage. The sign sports a dragon, hints of crenellation, and the encouraging suggestion: Bring it here to cram it. 

But there is no area code. 

Look, if you have to ask....

Cram-a-Lot gets me singing to myself, for miles! The liquor store can fix that, I guess, but I don't want it to.