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I heard from an irate reader this week — which is always preferable to hearing from my credit card company — and he was complaining about the state DOT’s decision to change the new green I-40 signs back to the old red, white and blue ones.

The surprise decision, in case you haven’t followed staff writer Taft Wireback’s coverage, came after residents along the new bypass complained about noise, and motorists passing through Greensboro complained about getting lost.

Also, giving directions to people coming from out of town was no picnic: “Take 40, but then exit and get on the old 40, which used to be the new 40 before they built the newer one. Otherwise, you’ll go right past Greensboro.”

Bowing to public sentiment, the state will simply change the signs back to make I-40 once again I-40. Drivers can choose the longer, less-traveled bypass — to be called I-73/421 — or the old straight shot affectionately known as “Death Valley.” And to those getting directions into town, we can just say, “Take I-40.”

Make sense?

Not according to the irate reader.

“Think about it. It’s not going to fix the noise, it’s not going to fix the traffic, it’s not going to change anything,” he argued. “That’s the best they could come up with. Move the signs. What if we did everything that way?”

Well, to an extent, we already do. The Clean Air Act. Operation Restore Freedom. No Child Left Behind. We make it sound good, and leave the rest to the fine print disclaimer.

Inevitably, of course, certain rights and restrictions apply. And we know full well this price is after manufacturer’s rebate. And side effects can include temporary blindness and in some rare cases, death.

But it’s how things sound that counts — “signage,” in the language of the DOT — and if we applied that wisdom to other areas, there would be nothing but smooth sailing ahead.

The price of gasoline would fall to just $1. Per liter. High school graduation rates would soar to 100 percent. Among graduating seniors. And the economy? Just flip those jagged downward graphs we keep seeing over, so they’re going up, up, up.

And let a smile be your umbrella. (Except in cases of tropical storms. Those who are pregnant or may become pregnant should talk to their doctor. All rights reserved.)

Vice Presidential Idol!

Speaking of low-lying depressions, there’s less than a week to go before the big vice-presidential debate, unless someone calls in sick.

And from the looks of it, these two candidates will have to cram, not only on current economic conditions, but 16 years of secondary education.

First, Sen. Joe Biden remarked in an interview with Katie Couric that in times of crisis, “Part of what being a leader does is to instill confidence, is to demonstrate what he or she knows what they are talking about and to communicating to people.”

For example, Biden said, when the stock market crashed in 1929, FDR didn’t simply point a finger but rather went on television and said, “This is what happened.”

Prompting middle school students everywhere to ask, “Wasn’t Herbert Hoover president when the Great Depression started? And if they already had TV, why did everyone stand in line for those dumb silent movies?”

Meanwhile, Gov. Sarah Palin got equal time with another caribou-caught-in-the-headlights performance, also with Couric.

When the CBS anchor asked Palin for examples of when John McCain had ever pushed for more regulations on business, Palin said: “I’ll try to find you some, and I’ll bring them to you.”

Something’s burning, and it smells like midnight oil.

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com