Whan in aprille

This picture is definitely worth a thousand words.  It is so symbolic of how people allow themselves to petrify as they travel their paths from birth to death.

The book by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, is a poignant depiction of this picture.  The Nigerian society of the book's main character is something that he understood well and became a leader.  But, as England colonized his area, all his values were changed because England sent their people to modernize the culture.  The book ends with his total inability to accept change.  He hanged himself in the last scene to show his disdain for British culture and to accentuate how humans can live without thinking about other ways to view traditions and progress.  The story is the perfect complement to the sign.

As I have observed people's use of language over the years, I have noticed the same reluctance.  A language application of the picture is also a good representation of Achebe's literary piece.  Between 1380 and 1590, that is between Chaucer and Shakespeare, the English used by people in England changed radically.  Chaucer's English was unintelligible by the time of Shakespeare's speakers.  And Shakespeare's plays, if performed, cannot be understood by modern speakers without practice in reading his plays before they attend.  Modern speakers absolutely don't recognize Chaucer's language as English, Also, the King James Bible of 1611, is not understood by modern English speakers because of its spelling, vocabulary, and sentence structure.

Things change not only on a macro scale, but also on a micro scale.  Just in my lifetime three irregular past participles have morphed into regular forms.  Pled has changed to pleaded, shown has changed to showed, dove has changed to dived.  Three unique past participles have converted to the more common pattern of  irregular past tense forms.  Stricken has been replaced with struck, swum with swam, drunken with drunk.  The auxiliary verb shall has dropped from use, the auxiliary modal verb may has been relegated to a mere polite form used in requests in a business setting, as in "may I ask your name."  The auxiliary modal verb might has replaced may on most other occasions. And, the auxiliary modal verb ought has been dropped in favor of should except in rural areas.  All of this in a short half of a century.

But I look at some people and they are so rigid.  Sometimes I see that the things they believe are the same as before they went to college, or before they experienced cancer, or before they had any of  life's experience.  Sometimes, I see people not using technology that has been around for a long time or driving the same way to a destination even though quicker routes exist because new roads have been built.  I see people's Facebook posts that tout the good ol' days as if the new days are not better, more improved, more advanced, speedier, or sounder.

Yessirree.  There's a burn ban in effect.  Don't bore me with the details of rain falling from the
 sky and a torrent of water moving along that covers half my sign.  That can't possibly make a difference!