I say it’s time to ban the banners already

Don McGee

It seems a banner brouhaha has been born. At least that is the way

one paper has headlined the bedlam. I, for one, see no “ha-ha” in the

situation.

If What A Lot A Pizza’s banners flutter for three hours a day, 100

days a year? That means the planes towing this banners will fly over

my residence approximately

1,800 times this year. How’s that for luck? How’s that for

overkill? The owner of this chain of pizza parlors says “It’s not my

banners I’m concerned about, it’s everybody’s banners.”

What A Lotta bologna! One thing is certain, he is obviously not

concerned about the community’s peace and quiet, only his own selfish

bottom line. Another certainty is that it takes a special kind of

inconsiderate person to utilize a form of marketing that is an

invasion of privacy and an obnoxious form of pollution (air and

noise).

Each summer the annual blitzkrieg waged by the air force of

avarice gets larger and noisier and yet in the past, few have been

moved to action. This year is different though, as more people are

becoming less tolerant of this unwarranted assault on our

sensibilities. Banner towing planes are a nuisance that not only

pollute the air with noxious fumes, but also with visual clutter and

most of all, noise. This form of advertising, once considered unique

and entertaining (many decades ago), has become old hat and as

annoying as re-runs of Wally George.

There are those who plunk down a fair size chunk of change to stay

at the sea-side hotels here only to be bombarded mercilessly by

flying billboards with obscure messages such as “have sand in your

crack?” or “if you had it last night -- smile.”

Not exactly wholesome thoughts for those from America’s heartland

to further their vision of a decadent Southern California.

The latest abomination reported is a banner by some group of

anti-choice people replete with graphic depiction of an aborted

fetus. The

line has been crossed and there are those among us that are

increasingly irritated by

this abuse of an outdated marketing tool. I live one

mile from the ocean and am cursed with being directly under the

flyover zone that these planes take upon embarking on another run at

the beach.

I and my neighbors, who have one or more of these exhibitionists

droning over our residences every five minutes of every weekend of

every summer, deserve a reprieve. Residing under the flight path of

these banner jockeys is excruciating and can be likened to the

infamous Chinese water torture -- and enough is enough is enough is

enough -- is way too much. The numbers of these irritants escalates

each summer, increasing the odds of a collision or malfunction or

fill in the blank -drunk, out of gas, asleep, etc.

The good news is that Councilwoman Connie Boardman has initiated

an action that may result in an ordinance to curtail this travesty.

Hopefully in the near future we can rid ourselves of this abhorrent

practice and regain a modicum of tranquillity.

Any resulting action produced can only help in alleviating this

intolerable situation and will be a welcome sign of caring for those

who have suffered in silence for far too long. Other cities are

beginning to see the insanity of this form of marketing and are

contemplating measures to curb the activity and I welcome this city’s

input because the time is right and it is the right thing to do.

* DON MCGEE is a Huntington Beach resident. To contribute to

Sounding Off fax us at (714) 965-7174 or e-mail us at

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