I was kind of a show-off. I loved bragging to my urban and suburban friends and relatives that we only had one “real” traffic light in our little town. Sometimes the bragging was blatant, but sometimes I’d just slip it in when giving directions; “Make a left at the light at Ireland Corners, that’s the only light we have in town—well—except for the flashing light at Albany Post, which doesn’t really count because it just flashes.” My friends would be very impressed. A small upstate town with only one real traffic light! What could be more charming than that?
Well, on May 29th, the one that “didn’t count” grew up and now we have two full-fledged traffic signals. They have the power to stop us, and to tell us when to go. No doubt there were some very good safety reasons for making it a real light, and I am all for safety. Still, I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic for when I got to brag about our one-light town.