'Humans should get together and fight': Durham man hopes COVID yard signs convince passersby to get a shot

Not just because they go too fast, but so they can see the message he’s trying to convey.

Months ago, Jim, and his wife Renee, made signs to put along the street outside his Durham home to encourage COVID-19 safety measures like wearing masks and getting vaccinated. Neighbors have been on board, letting them post signs in their yards as well.

One wooden totem pole-like structure by the driveway of Jim's house holds several signs meant to be read from the top down:

“Don’t risk adding”

“Guilt to grief”

“Get your jabs”                                                                              

“It’ll be a relief”

A multitude of attitudes and theories abound on COVID-19, but Lindsley has a more black-and-white perspective.

“You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem,” he said. “You can’t be neutral in the war on COVID.”

In a progressive area such as Durham, the long-touted City of Medicine, Lindsley feels some convincing still has to be done. He lives about a mile from the nationally-recognized Duke University Hospital, but hopes his signs serve as a reminder to the battle everyone is taking on.

Throughout history, Americans have come together when fighting a common enemy. That's the dynamic Lindsley is trying to summon.

“I’m trying to encourage people to think about their family, think about their loved ones," he said. "Don’t be selfish. I’m not trying to encourage them to give a crap about me, but it is my business because if they help fight COVID, they’re helping all of us.”

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The reactions to the signs have been varied.

“A lot of people driving by go ‘beep-beep-beep,’ that’s an approval. Now blarrrrrrrghhh,” Jim says, mimicking a extended car horn sound, “that not so much.”

Lindsley is 74 and has lived in Durham since the 70s. Needless to say, the town's changed a lot since then, but he's run his own waterproofing business out of the Bull City for decades. He’s a cancer survivor and says he's taken every precaution against COVID-19 for the last 17 months.

Lindsley said he hates seeing people express remorse after not getting the vaccine.

“It breaks my heart to see all the needless, avoidable deaths because of people making totally uniformed or misinformed decisions,” Lindsley said. “COVID-19 doesn’t care if I’m Democrat, Republican, Independent, COVID-19 preys on humans. Humans should get together and fight this common enemy.”