Green Lights Out Plot

What is going on with the traffic lights around Rochester? I have seen at least a half dozen traffic lights where the green light is either burned out entirely, only half showing, or flashing, stuttering, blinking or whatever you want to call it when the light doesn't behave itself! It's a bit weird.

I half smile as I consider that it could be some sci-fi alien force sending us a coded message. Or it could be that all the kids sitting at red lights playing with their handheld video games have drained the power which burned out the green lights since they are lowest on the fixture. I suppose it could be that all the rain we have been having lately has seeped into the holder and zapped the wires.

Or maybe the economy is so tight that they can no longer pay the team that normally changes these lights, so they have all gone wanting. Perhaps they track these outages through some sort of software that has a glitch in it due to an upgrade (right, dream on). I could keep guessing.

The interesting result is that there is no difference in the flow of traffic whether the green light works or is out. We are like trained robots. As long as the red light comes on and goes off, regardless of whether the green light shows up, cars go! On beyond even Pavlov.

It reminds me of a time when I was a kid playing "red light, green light" with the neighborhood kids. The person up front said "Mother may I?" instead of green light, and nobody even heard her except me. Everybody started running while I just stood there. And nobody believed me when I repeatedly told them that she said the wrong words.

I wonder how many areas of my life I am navigating without the appropriate signals? Have I even checked to see if there is a reason I am on automatic pilot? Do I need to change course, change behavior, pay more attention to what it is I am supposed to be doing? Make sure I am in the right game and on the right street?

Every once in awhile I find the need to take a little inventory and make sure all the green lights are working and all the streets are clear to go. I guess today is as good as any.