Signs of the times

When John Deus, 74, takes to the road, he doesn’t just keep an eye on the traffic and other hazards. He’s also alert for interesting signage.

“I think I’ve photographed about 75 different signs during my travels,” said Deus (pronounced the German way, “Doyce”). “I’m a very curious person in general, so when I started seeing these signs that I don’t normally see, I took pictures.”

The Pleasanton resident started to pull out his camera — now his phone — about 10 years ago.

“It sort of became a hobby — ‘passion’ is too intense,'” Deus said. “I began to pay attention to signs that I feel are unusual.”

He recorded a sign on a tall bridge in New Zealand warning that jumping had caused death and permanent injury. He photographed a notice on a farm that read: “Farms have animals. Animals make funny sounds, smell bad and have sex outdoors. Unless you can tolerate noise, odors and outdoor sex, don’t buy property next to a farm.”

One chain-link fence had an ominous sign: “Is there life after death: Trespass here and find out.”

Another musing, beautifully painted on a pub floor in Wellington, New Zealand, shared: “It is better to sit in the inn thinking about the church, than sit in the church thinking about the inn.”

Deus said his favorite sign is one he spotted in the English countryside: “Tank crossing.” The words were under a simple outline of a tank.

“My wife and I were driving along on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and it hit me — we’d passed a tank crossing,” he said. “I backed the car up.”

Many of Deus’ travels have been on his Harley-Davidson, some overseas. He saw a penguin crossing while on a three-week motorcycle tour in New Zealand. That is also where he photographed a sign noting the longest place name in the world, the Maori name for a hill: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamatea-turipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Deus had a career with Hewlett Packard, and with Hexcel in Pleasanton, and has been living in the Birdland neighborhood for 19 years. His regular biking buddies are his brother Rick, and friends Gary, Tennis and Mike.

Most of his motorcycle trips were three weeks, Deus said.

“Sometimes it was just Gary and I, sometimes five of us, depending on who could go and where,” he explained.

Another international trip began in Munich and included 47 Alpine passes and eight countries in three weeks.

“There are over 200 Alpine passes, but we couldn’t get them all in,” Deus said.

In Deus’ photo collection, a road sign in Cave Creek, Ariz., urges motorists to “Look Twice for Motorcycles.” The town also has a whimsical portrait of gamboling deer on the road, cactus and mountains in the distance, as it notes, “Deer crossing.”

Motorists are alerted to horseback riders in Apache Junction, Ariz. A family of bears is portrayed crossing above a sign saying, “Slow down for wildlife,” in Sequoia National Park.

Sometimes just plain street names catch Deus’ fancy, such as Dead Broke Street in Nemo, S.D. He caught that one while en route to the annual Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, S.D.

“I’ve been about five times,” Deus said. “I started going in the late ’90s. We saw the wild years and we saw the tame years — and we all had a great time all the way.”

“And we managed to keep the rubber side down the whole way,” he added.

It was in Sturgis in 2008 that he photographed a sign warning: “Watch out for drunken pedestrians,” complete with an outline of a tipsy person, overflowing beer mug in hand.

Deus’ last motorcycle trip with his buddies was to Milwaukee, a trip he laid out and navigated from his Ultra Classic Harley.

“The four of us toured the beautiful new Harley-Davidson Museum,” he said. “The purpose of the trip was to retrace historic Route 66.”

They found its origin at Michigan Avenue and Adams Street in Chicago.

“We followed Route 66 all the way back to the Santa Monica Pier,” Deus said. “We had a wonderful time, the four of us. It took maybe 21-22 days. And there was only 20 minutes of rain.”

He reported seeing old Burma Shave signs on Route 66, somewhere between Seligman and Kingman, Ariz.

Outside Oatman, Ariz., were “ass crossing” signs. Deus explained that silver miners had used donkeys and when the miners left, they let the pack animals loose.

“They are walking the streets and are very tame,” he said. “At nighttime they just go into the mountains.”

That trip was the final one on his beloved Harley, since Deus was into his 70s. He said many of the older bikers now attend the Sturgis Rally on big motorized trikes but “none of us wanted to do that.”

“We came back, and my brother Rick and I sold our motorcycles,” he said.

Now Deus is driving the countryside with his wife Tish, often sharing with her the mountain roads that he discovered on his bike, including Zion and Bryce national parks and the Grand Canyon. They are also exploring Northern California on Highway 1.

California has retired signs reading “Watch for falling trees” in favor of the simpler “Falling trees,” said Deus, so he photographed an old-fashioned “Watch for falling trees” on Lakeville Road near Petaluma. He also shot a sign in Pescadero that sported a “Tsunami Evacuation Site” sign with an image of a family running from a huge wave.

“The last sign I took was one that said, ‘Senior Crossing,’ in Berkeley,” Deus said. “I’d never seen that. I jumped out of the car.”

Sometimes vehicles have catchy signs, too. A delivery truck for a winery had a notice on its rear: “In case of accident, bring cheese and crackers. Lots and lots of cheese and crackers.”

The back of a bus in Queenstown, New Zealand, warned: “Brace yourself for impact. Hurricane Warning.” Deus has also documented license plates such as “Aruba. One happy island.”

In a bar in Texas, he photographed a sign with a woman’s outline in a circle and a line through it that read, “We do not serve women — you must bring your own.”

A sign welcoming motorists to Wisconsin informs criminals and terrorists that its residents legally carry guns and are prepared to defend themselves, adding, “Illinois and Chicago, however, have been disarmed for your convenience.”

From penguins crossing in New Zealand to tanks crossing in England to seniors crossing in Berkeley — Deus’ collection continues to grow.

Appeal over redevelopment project at old Chevron HQ coming to San Ramon councilApril 6, 2026 10:32 pm

Court orders revisions to Contra Costa County's Measure B ballot questionApril 6, 2026 6:42 pm

Danville council moves toward finalizing new assessment district structureApril 6, 2026 10:21 pm