As Jennings Bernard can attest, one of my pet peeves is people who leave up political campaign signs long after an election is over. Maybe this stems from my stints as a campaign worker while I was growing up in Nashville, when I was among the legions of foot soldiers assigned to mundane but necessary tasks such as envelope stuffing and sign drop off and removal.

Anyway, there's a new offender who has caught my attention, although I doubt he's a political candidate. He's "Uncle Todd," whose yard sign I first noticed along Danny Thomas Boulevard near I-40 around the weekend of the St. Jude Memphis Marathon.

The sign, which was still standing when I passed it on my way to work this morning, has "Don't Mess with Uncle Todd" printed above a photo of a cute baby, whom I presume is not Uncle Todd. The bottom line of the poster screams: "Go, Todd, Go!" which leads me to believe that Uncle Todd is a marathon runner. (Hey, they don't call journalists "trained observers" for nothing.)

Anyway, my message to whoever put up the sign is this: The marathon was held Dec. 2. If you still haven't seen Uncle Todd, maybe it's time to call an ambulance.