LIne, Line, Everywhere a Line

Our tiny subdivision has a (note the emphasis on “a”) stop sign that most of us treat as a yield sign. Not long ago, for the purpose of getting us to stop and not yield, a white line was painted in front of that sign. Much to my chagrin, it worked; I caught myself breaking to a stop the first few times I approached the sign.

This set me to thinking about lines and how we have to contend with them in almost every facet of life. There are lunch lines (of which if you cut in front of others you take your life into your own hands), check-out lines, starting lines, finish lines, foul lines, base lines, and crosswalk lines.

You can say a funny line, feed someone a line of bull, or walk the straight and narrow line.

You can “line up” but you can’t line down, and there’s a line you must tow at work or risk getting fired.

Some say lines on your face go where the smiles have been. Others say lines on your face make you look like a road atlas.

You can “draw a line in the sand,” which if crossed can lead to a number of negative things: arguments, fights, wars, divorce, hissy fits, grit between your toes and in your shoes, bites from sand fleas, etc. Thus, one often hears warnings about not “crossing the line.”

Although I’ve never actually been there, all my life I’ve feared what’s at “the end of the line” when warned if I continued acting “out of line (exactly what line I was supposed to act in I was never sure of)” that’s what was in store for me. Obviously I’ve managed to act in the correct line enough to avoid such a horrible fate.

When driving, a single or double solid yellow line down the center of the road means it’s unsafe and illegal to pass vehicles in front of you. As a side note, I think that’s such a waste of paint. Shouldn’t you be able to see with your own eyes whether or not it’s unsafe to pass? I mean, if a driver needs a solid yellow line in the center of the road to let him know it’s unsafe to pass on a hair-pin curve get out of his way!

And hey, if you’re driving behind a slow moving car when approaching a sharp curve on a winding mountain road and you think to yourself, “My, my, my, that slow-poke in front of me is cramping my style. I’m think I’ll just pass him even though I can’t see around this pesky curve,” I want to know where the heck you got your driver’s license, off a box of corn flakes?!

Yes, life is full of lines, can’t avoid them. But as much as I detest them I must learn to live with them, work with them, adapt to them, and respect them. If I don’t I might end up finding out just what is at the end of the line, and one thing’s for certain, it can’t be anything good.

5 comments:
skrpndiva said...
Very clever and quite witty!Jacquie
Monday, September 3, 2007 4:04:00 PM EDT
Valerie said...
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 8:07:00 AM EDT
Suzy said...
do you have a clothes line? or do you use a dryer?
Sunday, September 9, 2007 7:12:00 AM EDT
Renae said...
Wonderful post Doug!! Certainly get's the mind to think about all the lines in life.
Sunday, September 9, 2007 3:36:00 PM EDT
Doug Bagley said...
Everybody, thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my posts. I don't have a clothes line but have been "closed lined" while playing American football, cost me three shoulder surgeries.I not only seem to end up in the wrong line but often the long line as well. Thinking of all the lines in life can give you a headache if you're not careful, lol.