Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at hermionyvidaliabooks@gmail.com.

Stop! In the name of love!

We learn the word stop at a very young age. It was used when we were children if we were doing something we shouldn’t, or when parents were trying to keep us safe.

As kids and teenagers, the word stop might have been a temptation to go and keep on doing what we wanted to do no matter if the consequences might not turn out well. It might have been a tempting word to us.

The word stop means to cease what we are doing. There can be meaning in the world we don’t think about, such as taking the time to take a break and concentrate, or take a break and move in another direction.

The word stop can save lives.

I have an intersection not far from where I live. It used to have a yield sign on one corner but not on the other three corners of the intersection. I always wondered what the thought processes were that placed the yield sign on only one corner. It now has two yield signs.

A few years ago a yield sign was replaced by a stop sign on a busy corner in my community. Last year two more stops signs were added to an intersection where streets meet the train track. I don’t know the reasoning for changing from yield to stop, but I can only imagine people were not yielding and so something stronger was needed to remind them this was a busy intersection. I must admit it was hard to get used to the stop signs, and if I was not paying attention, old habits died hard and instead of stop, I would still yield and keep on going. I have learned to be more aware of my surrounding most of the time. However, when you drive familiar streets, people may have a tendency to not pay as much attention to their surroundings as they do in strange territory.

Citizens in Albert Lea are trying to get a stop sign installed at one of the corners of Frank Hall Drive to prevent any more tragedies from occurring. I am not familiar with the street, nor am I a resident of Albert Lea, but I support stop signs in certain places in the name of safety. And I must admit I don’t know the roadblocks and the hoops the committee must jump through to get a stop sign installed. To me, it is a no-brainer if it is going to make a neighborhood safer.

We all become impatient when we are in a hurry and we fudge on stopping at intersections. We pass cars when there is a bare minimum of room. Patience on the highways is a rare commodity.

Last week I followed five semis and a pick-up truck from Mapleton to Mankato at 45 mph. Traffic behind me was impatient, but it was not possible to pass, and the impatience of other drivers trying to pass five semis and a pick-up truck was dangerous to all of us. It didn’t bother me that it was taking longer, what bothered me was the ire of other drivers because they were being inconvenienced by the traffic.

We should welcome the stop signs in our life. They make us more aware of our surroundings, and they help us stop and savor the moment. We should welcome those stop signs because they might prevent us from doing something we regret.

Stop signs on intersections save lives. They are there for a reason. They are not there for us to cruise through. They are there for us to stop, look around and then continue on our journey. They are there to give others the opportunity to continue their journey safely.

The Supremes are known for their song, “Stop! In the Name of Love. The first line says; “Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart.” If you see a stop sign or even a yield sign, Stop! In the name of love, before you break a heart.