The Indian Hills Community Sign Facebook page currently has over 162,000 followers. Rozmiarek puts up photos when he changes his jokes, and the posts often get thousands of likes.
His followers share their own puns in response or just express their gratitude for the laughter. Simple phrases like “This little place saves my life most days.” Simple but meaningful.
“Obviously, I’m a man with time on my hands,” Rozmiarek said. “My three kids are all grown, and people could use something to smile about. So, why not, I thought.”
However, Rozmiarek admitted that like any comedian, he sometimes pushes the envelope, and not all of his puns go down well. Once in 2015, he posted the phrase, “Old McDonald had OCD — EE II OO.”
“Somebody put up a sign at the post office saying that I was making fun of people with disabilities,” he said.
“I wrote my response on the note and put it back on the bulletin board: ‘Do you see how nice and square those letters are? I have OCD, big time!’”
Rozmiarek said he searches for content on the internet, and also in his collection of pun books.
“I especially love the stuff from the ’40s and ’50s — the ‘glory days’ of puns,” he said. “I found that I could alter them a bit and make them fresh.”
Although he admits to stealing a pun or two, Rozmiarek said he never puts up jokes that somebody else has taken credit for. And he never posts an expression twice.
“I'm looking at puns now for at least an hour a day,” he said. “If I didn't steer clear of politics, I'd have an endless supply."
