Go With The Flow

Here’s a snip from an email we received and, although this wasn’t the main point the writer was addressing, it reminded me of an observation I’ve been wanting to make…

“…I make several 180 mile trips on the interstate throughout the year and my biggest frustration is slow people in the left lane. Iowa even has signs posted on the roadways notifying slower cars to stay to the right, but still these drivers continue on, moving slowly, in the left lane.“ [Emphasis mine–JAT]

A number of months ago, I bought one of those AbLounges.  You know, the piece of exercise equipment that looks sort of like some kind of lawn-chair chaise which lets you fold yourself inside and out when you sit in it and which offers you rock solid, highly-defined abs as a result of what appears on TV to be an almost effortless expenditure of energy.

When my easy answer to a sculpted midsection arrived, I had one of my sons put it together for me (otherwise, it would still be in the shipping box).  I tried it out for a couple of minutes and enjoyed it.  Then it was given a prominent place in our rec room.  Funny thing.  Since I hardly ever go into the rec room, it ended up just occupying space, unused.  And my promised “rock hard abs” were nowhere to be found.

One day, upon noticing that I still had what appeared to be just a single, larger ab and not the desired, well-defined “six pack”, I decided I would do something to insure that my AbLounge would accomplish more for me than simply collecting dust.

I took it and placed it directly in the path I take as I move back and forth multiple times throughout the day between the La-Z-Boy recliner in my office and the kitchenette where I go to fix myself a latte’, get a glass of water to drink, etc.  I figured that if I nearly tripped over the thing (which, in fact, happened more than once) then, surely, I would take a few moments to develop those “rock hard abs”.

Now here’s my point: it has been at least six months since I put that AbLounge there and I can tell you that I hardly notice the thing every time I walk by, even though I have to walk around it!  This is the problem with those posted exhortations along our freeways which say Theme and Variation of ”Slower traffic move right”.  Nobody notices them.  Like my AbLounge, the signs are, for all practical purposes, invisible and their message goes unheeded.

This is one really good reason why the MOVE OVER decal is so effective.  Since the decal suddenly appears in a driver’s rear-view mirror and since it is so completely out of the normal driving routine, it not only gets noticed but its message very often gets through.

I can pretty-well guarantee you that the pro-active, MOVE OVER message gets a far better response than those seldom-noticed, seldom-heeded, roadside signs.

We’ve got to get drivers thinking about the proper use of the Left Lane.  The MOVE OVER decal plays a significant role in bringing this to the forefront of drivers’ minds.  Thanks for helping us spread the word.

P.S.  Does anyone want to purchase a very slightly used AbLounge?  [JAT]