Murfreesboro Road and Me

We live in a part of Nashville called Antioch. Now, Antioch has become basically a generic name for a very large and spread out portion of southeastern Nashville-Davidson County.  A friend of mine who is a life-long resident says he is frequently surprised at areas that the people on the news will say is part of Antioch.There are all kinds of areas in Antioch, from well-to-do family areas to run-down shopping malls, from streets that you can walk down at 3AM to areas where you're scared 24/7. (We live in a good part of town, don't worry.) Because of this diversity, it has become quite a melting pot of different types of people and cultures.

If you're not familiar with Nashville, there is a major road that runs through what is basically the center of Antioch called Murfreesboro Road. It runs from downtown (where, like many roads in Nashville, it has a different name, Lafayette Street), into and through Antioch, and all the way into Rutherford County to the town of, yes, you guessed it, Murfreesboro. Most of this road is 4 lane divided highway, and even if not divided, still 4 lanes.

THIS is the sign you see on about 90% of this bustling, busy, major thoroughfare. So why do I constantly find myself going 30 MPH here? I'm driving down the street in the left lane, and if there's two other cars on the road, one will be in front of me going 30, and one in the right lane half a car length ahead going 31, preventing me from going around. We'll travel down the road like this for two or three blocks. One of the most amazing things about this is that we'll brake at intersections, even when we have green lights. Finally, physics being what it is, we'll get a little separation, and I can pass the guy. Then I get two or three blocks of speed limit driving (which feels like the Autobahn by then), until BOOM! there's the next group, doing the same as above. Sometimes I have to ride with my foot on the brake because MY CAR DOESN'T IDLE THAT SLOW! This has even happened on my way into work, which as many of you know is generally about 4:30 in the morning (3:30 the last couple of weeks). Must be a law or something.

Many years ago, my best friend commented that he was surprised that I didn't have a bunch of speeding tickets. He said I drove faster than anyone he knew. I don't think that's true, but I admit that I drive as fast as the road and conditions allow. I've only had one speeding ticket in my life (given to me on Oporto Blvd. near the old Eastwood Mall in Birmingham on my 20th birthday.There's something cruel about a cop handing you a ticket and saying "Happy birthday.") I don't want to go 100, I just want to go the speed limit. I constantly tell these other drivers (yes, I talk to them in my car) that I agree that it's their God-given right to drive 20 MPH....just do it in the RIGHT-HAND LANE!

And don't get me started on phone use in the car. I was pulling away from the curb in front of DJ's school today and while waiting for a lady to go by, she stopped dead in the middle of the block right in front of me. Even though I was sticking out into the road at a 45 degree angle, even with my front end pointed right at her passenger door, she obviously didn't know I was there. It took a serious horn to get her to move. Why can't everyone drive as well as I do?