syndrome.

Today is National Hamburger Day. No one is really sure where it started, but it's a nice way to kick off Memorial Day weekend, and who would pass up an excuse for a quality burger? I can't really remember the last time I had a hamburger ... I'm not a vegetarian. I have a deep appreciation for a quality steak, but my grocery budget only supports the occasional pork chop or boneless chicken breast. But if you're more inclined to cake than hamburgers, you can celebrate today with a hamburger cake. It's true.

I don't like cake, but I did consider going and splurging on a burger for dinner. But my eggs are expiring today so I stayed home and made a egg/cheese burrito. It's probably good that I didn't go out; I'm pretty sure everyone gets in their cars and decides to park on Nolensville Rd. between 4-6 p.m. And even though Nashville is the friendliest city in America, that has nothing to do with ability to drive.

I've mentioned before that I often find myself talking to other drivers while I'm in my car. And besides drivers talking on their cell phones, not using their turn signals, driving on shoulders, or cruising down an exit-only lane only to stop at the end to wait for someone to let them back in, there is something else I will never understand. It's what I like to call The White Line Attachment Syndrome. And it looks like this:

Well, this is a rough rendition, but you get the idea. And in my situation, it's opposite--the right lane ends and you're supposed to merge right before meeting up with the interstate. So I'm driving in the left lane around the curve at 45 and speeding up because I know I will be joining cars moving at 55 mph. Then there is this car hanging out in the right lane. It is slightly ahead of me but it is not speeding up. And it is making no attempt whatsoever to merge. In fact, it is hugging that outside white line as long as it can, unwilling to let it go.

How can you just ignore the LANE ENDS MERGE LEFT signs? Or those gigantic white arrows painted down the middle of the lane? If your smoke detectors are beeping like crazy in your house, are you going to sit in your recliner until the last possible second? No! You're going to start moving and get out of there as fast as you can. Because when you don't I've got to go in there and save you (or hit my brakes so you can get over). If you are reading this and you think you or someone you love might be suffering from White Line Attachment Syndrome, take my advice:
Accelerate. Accelerate. Accelerate. And get the heck out of there!

You can be a good driver if you try,




ps. Okay, now I feel totally convicted about this. I'm reading Crazy Love, and the first thing I read tonight is Francis Chan writing about Matthew 25 and treating other people as we would treat Christ. Then he says: "How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ--the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items ... "

Ouch. I will now tape "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF" to my dashboard and work on my grace and peace.