Idle Wars
Greeting all! I’m not a fan of drive thru windows for the mere reason of global warming and increased carbon footprint, however, it does come in handy when I need something quick and simple like a coffee and/or a donut. If a drive thru line appears long, I personally make every effort to park my vehicle, get some much needed exercise, and go in and greet people instead of hiding in my vehicle. And nine times out of ten, I come out with my order in hand to see a line of expressionless drivers scratching their heads wondering how did I ever get my order before theirs…and I just smile.  Now how many times have you gone thru a drive thru window for a coffee shop to find a vehicle ahead of you ordering meals for their families? “I’ll have a tomato rice soup with a grilled chicken Panini hold the cheese, a large coffee with one sugar, and a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese. My friend will have…” ARGHHHH!!! Come on now! Enough’s enough. Drive thrus were meant to ‘drive thru’…not ‘park and idle’. That one inconsiderate driver has now become worse than ten while everyone behind them suffers because of their ignorance wasting their precious time and money! Shouldn’t that person be ordering in a restaurant? This is common sense, but it will never be common until it is taught. And here is where I hope you can help me and many others in this cause! We all know that idling is bad for our environment and our pocket books. On this note, wouldn’t it help our environment if drive thrus charged an environmental surcharge of say 10 percent for orders over $5 (an additional $0.50) and 20 percent over $10 (an additional $1)!? It’s time these drivers pay their dues if they don’t want to change their ways. And what would we do with the money that is generated? Give it to the local environmental group to create a recycling facility, plant a tree, start a compost program, whatever! Something good has to come out of bad, but it has to start somewhere. The cure to ignorance is education. Here’s hoping this project will change our world for the better.