Looks like Fall ...

When summer fades to fall, nights grow cold, the wind picks up and leaves turn startling shades of red and orange. Eventually dew turns to frost on the car windows and inevitably, the gravel trucks show up to start the chip-sealing process on the roads ... at least in our town.

Roads are swept, tar is spread and gravel is dropped onto the tar in heaps that flip up from car tires to chip paint and ding windows.

Once the city is sure they've gotten most of the cars in town, they sweep up the extra gravel, or just push it onto the side of the road to turn the first snowfall greasy-gray and deadly when you slide from the pavement. Next the oil trucks come in.

The oil trucks spray a fine mist of black oil over the entire concoction of gravel and tar to lure cars onto the roads with the promise of new asphalt ... don't be fooled. The oil flips from tires onto paint jobs to create black streaks, just in case you emerged unscathed from the actual flipping of the gravel.

The oil doesn't come off.

In the past, there have been no signs or warnings of the fresh oil, so when I saw the signs this year (regular copy paper duct-taped to the road), I was impressed. Let's be honest here - I laughed so hard I could hardly see ...

Two paper signs duct taped to the road to warn of fresh oil? Have you ever tried to read an 8x11 sheet of paper passing by your window at 25 mph?

Nice try.