Billy Ocean was wrong!

Good afternoon!

I love drive thrus.  You don't get thighs like mine unless you work the drive thrus every chance you get.  I sometimes don't go to a place simply because it doesn't have a drive thru.  (See the picture above.)

When the kids were little I used those drive thrus to do everything.  It was great because I didn't have to drag the kids in and out of building to get a whole pile of errands done.  Basically, I raised two kids and babysat a whole pile more all from the comfort of the drivers' seat of my car!

You can drive through for everything.  Food, prescriptions, banking, library books.  It's easy.  You pull up and speak into a speaker, pull around the corner and whatever you just asked for is done!  I especially like the drive through at the library.  I've avoided many a fine because I was able to return a book at the stroke of midnight in my jammies!

But there are some problems living a drive thru life.  First of all, does anyone know how to spell the word THROUGH anymore?

Granted, THROUGH is a stupid looking word.  And trying teaching a first grader to read that word.  Go ahead...I'll wait.  Yeah, that's what I thought.  (I tried years ago...it's not easy.)  Through is a stupid looking word, and in today's world where everything costs by the letter, it's just easier to write it as "THRU."  But that doesn't make that spelling of the word correct.  (I'll deal with correct spelling another day.)

Misspells aside, I can point to our obesity problem as a direct result of drive thrus.  Why get out of the car and walk ten steps in and out of the eatery when you can just pull up and they'll toss a bag to you?  Step by step we've found a way to intake more calories while outputting fewer.


How about we've just learned to accept mistakes as a way of life?  Think about it:  You've got kids in the car...it's raining...you're tired...whatever.  You place an order for dinner and the girl in the hat hands you a bag through the window.  You don't check it until you get home.  And it's WRONG. 

What, I'm  going to get back in the car...drive back...and demand it be corrected?  No, I'm the one who was too lazy in the first place to get out of the car!  I have yet to get an order correct from the local Taco Bell.  I go every time, wondering just what, exactly will be in my bag.  Instead of demanding attention to detail, we accept the mistakes because, well, getting out of the car is just too hard!  I pay for sour cream EVERY TIME I order there and I have yet to get it.  By my calculations, that Taco Bell owes me $75.50.

I suppose we're losing touch with people as well.  In a world where I can converse with someone in another country at all hours of the day online, I couldn't tell you the name of the banker that just deposited my paycheck, or the librarian that checked in my books, or even my pharmacist.  (I'm thinking I should probably know the name of the person who's filling my prescriptions, right?  But again, that would mean getting out of the car!) 

Billy Ocean once sang, "Get out of my dreams get into my car."  We listened...and we never got out!  Now look at us!  We can't spell, we're overweight, we accept mistakes as just part of life, even if it means we never get the sour cream we paid for, and we don't know anyone's name. 

I'd get more upset about this, but my favorite Starbucks just put in a drive thru and I'm hankering for a dark cherry mocha!