For many years Tom scoured books of one-liners and witty sayings to come up with most of his messages, now he relies on the internet. "It has really made things a lot easier," he said, going on to explain that once he found a saying he liked he would write it down on a piece of paper in four lines, editing it to make it fit and look right on his sign.
Then he would sort out the letters and put up the sign. For years the weekly changing of the sign meant climbing up and down the ladder several times.( Both sides before the one-way road change) When he moved to his present location, he had a sign custom made with a catwalk that he could walk along as he swapped out the letters.
One time a few years ago, the ladder fell and left him stranded in a freezing rain storm for half an hour until he was able to flag down a driver!
Tom has never advertised his business in his messages.He felt it would do more good to give people something to think about. You might say he provides "Chicken Soup for the East Sprague Traveller's Soul". Here are some of his tidbits:
"Ever stop to think and forgot to start again?"
"Everything is always impossible until it works."
"If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple payments."
"Tough times don't last but tough people do."
"For fast acting relief, try slowing down."
"Some people with kleptomania take something for it."
"Nothing is better than your best"
"It's never too late to be who you might have been."
"Credit Crunch- a great name for a Baskins and Robbins flavor
of the month.
"The more birthdays you have, the longer you live."
"I started with nothing and I still have most of it."
"When you are up your ears, keep your mouth shut."
"If you want to save face, keep the lower half shut."
There are issues Tom, a former military man, feels strident about such as the conflict in Iran:
"Friendly reminder, never forget our troops."
"No matter who is right or wrong, do support our troops."
"Enjoy the holidays but do support our troops."
"Whatever happens, do support our troops."
Then there was the the sewer/corridor episode that Tom and his business weathered, but not without him having a few things to say about it:
"We are still open while the construction blues go on."
"Sprague was once an easy travel road but progress has changed that."
"Progress is interesting, can you tell by the road mess?"
"On Sprague, anger is just one letter short of danger"
If you consider that Tom has put up nearly 3,000 new messages over the last 40 years, and made thousands of people,each day,
stop to think or smile or both, that tremendous effort alone is far more of a contribution to the community than most of us make. But for Tom, it represents only a small part of the countless hours
he has devoted to making this world a better place.
Read the full story On Tom Rousseau
Read some short stories of Tom
