No. 374 - HAVE YOU SEEN A "BURMA SHAVE" SIGN LATELY?

No. 374
Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN
HAVE YOU SEEN A BURMA SHAVE SIGN LATELY?

Several years ago when we made a trip up to New England with our friends Fay & Deveryl Smith, we made the decision to stay off the interstate highways and take the state roads as much as possible. It was a wonderful trip and we were able to slow down and just enjoy the scenery. While the interstate highways will get us there much faster, there was a special charm about the old days when we only had two lane highways that wound around through the countryside and you could look at the farms, crops, livestock and the far off vistas.
One of the things I miss most about travel back then was the Burma Shave signs. These signs were posted all over the countryside in farmers fields. If you have never seen the Burma Shave signs, here is a quick lesson in our history of the 1930s and 40s. They were small red signs with white letters. Five signs, about 100 feet apart, each containing one line of a four line couplet and the obligatory fifth sign advertising Burma Shave, a popular shaving cream.
Here is the copy of a few of the actual signs. While your memory may be better than mine, I can remember the signs but for the life of me, I could not tell you what was on them. As you read these, keep in mind that they each contain a message or a moral that the driver and his or her passengers would do well to heed. DONT LOSE YOUR HEADTO GAIN A MINUTEYOU NEED YOUR HEADYOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT Burma Shave DROVE TOO LONGDRIVER SNOOZINGWHAT HAPPENED NEXTIS NOT AMUSING. Burma Shave BROTHER SPEEDERLETS REHEARSEALL TOGETHERGOOD MORNING NURSE Burma Shave CAUTIOUS RIDERTO HER RECKLESS DEARLETS HAVE LESS BULLAND MORE STEER Burma Shave SPEED WAS HIGHWEATHER WAS NOTTIRES WERE THINX MARKS THE SPOT Burma Shave
THE MIDNIGHT RIDEOF PAUL FOR BEERLED TO A WARMERHEMISPHERE Burma Shave AROUND THE CURVELICKETY-SPLITITS A BEAUTIFUL CARWASNT IT? Burma Shave NO MATTER THE PRICENO MATTER HOW NEWTHE BEST SAFETY DEVICEIN THE CAR IS YOU Burma Shave A GUY WHO DRIVESA CAR WIDE OPENIS NOT THINKINHES JUST HOPIN Burma Shave AT INTERSECTIONSLOOK EACH WAYA HARP SOUNDS NICEBUT ITS HARD TO PLAY Burma Shave
BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEELEYES ON THE ROADTHATS THE SKILLFULDRIVERS CODE Burma Shave THE ONE WHO DRIVES WHENHES BEEN DRINKINGDEPENDS ON YOUTO DO HIS THINKING Burma Shave CAR IN DITCHDRIVER IN TREETHE MOON WAS FULLAND SO WAS HE Burma Shave And here is my favorite. PASSING SCHOOL ZONETAKE IT SLOWLET OUR LITTLESHAVERS GROW Burma Shave
Now, do these bring back memories? If not, you are such a child! Or if they do, youre older than dirt. Of course the way to get to be older than dirt, like me, is to heed the advice on those Burma Shave signs. The real message here for all of us is to slow down and enjoy the trip, whether its a vacation or a trip to the grocery store. To be sure, we live in a rush, rush world, but if we never take the time to slow down and enjoy the scenery, we are missing some of the real joys of being alive
Of course, you understand that Im not talking about the art or the knack of getting things done. What we need is not to rush, but to have order and discipline in our lives. A strong, disciplined life is an inspiration to me. Its like a shade giving tree in a thirsty land or a sheltering rock in a storm. (Jim Davidson is a motivational speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)