For those of you who do not live anywhere near the east coast, we easterners travel something called the I-95 corridor. According to Wikipedia, “Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Miami.” There have been stories about drug busts on our infamous I-95 and, Wikipedia also outlines “Notable Disasters” such as, “In March 1996, an illegal tire dump in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia caught fire, destroying 22 spans of the Port Richmond viaduct. Although the fire occurred during the overnight hours, it caused major traffic delays within Philadelphia itself, along with the paralleling I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike in New Jersey. The entire span and its support columns were replaced in an emergency repair project that took nearly 3 months to complete. The property owners were later convicted in both federal and state court.”
If you know I-95, you realize there are other notable disasters – especially if you have traveled between the Carolinas. If you are traveling south, there is the whole South of the Border nonsense, which quite literally may be the tackiest place on earth – and yet 8
million people stop and buy fireworks and eat a taco underneath a giant sombrero each year. If traveling north, you experience what I will call, “Outreach on I-95,” and it includes some of the most fascinating billboards I have ever seen. The plethora of billboards, that invade both sides of the highway, can be separated into three categories:
1) hotel and restaurant advertisements
2) topless bar advertisements
3) Jesus advertisements
Interestingly, the first two types promise comfort, fulfillment and hospitality. The third most often promises hell.
For a short stretch, it was every other billboard. One would simply say, “TOPLESS! TOPLESS! TOPLESS! Next exit” or the poetic, “We dare to bare.” Then the next would say, “It’s your choice! Heaven or HELL! Read John 3:36,” and there were two pictures – one of fluffy white clouds and the other of burning flames. Thankfully, my children were absorbed in a DVD (without any nudity and/or hell) so they did not notice or ask questions – but I was fascinated by this back and forth. It was almost like watching a competition or a volley.
I have no doubt that some well-intentioned churches are upset about the stripper ads and so they prayed and organized and raised funds to combat the problem. In my opinion, they have contributed to it instead, and unwittingly created a boxing match of sorts – one jab following another. The strange thing is, as I traveled along, neither advertising was appealing. The topless bars seemed seedy and pathetic, and Jesus seemed scathing and angry. Pathetic vs. angry.
Given the choice, I’d take the Cracker Barrel. You say, "Collard greens, next exit" and I
'm in.
If you know I-95, you realize there are other notable disasters – especially if you have traveled between the Carolinas. If you are traveling south, there is the whole South of the Border nonsense, which quite literally may be the tackiest place on earth – and yet 8
million people stop and buy fireworks and eat a taco underneath a giant sombrero each year. If traveling north, you experience what I will call, “Outreach on I-95,” and it includes some of the most fascinating billboards I have ever seen. The plethora of billboards, that invade both sides of the highway, can be separated into three categories:1) hotel and restaurant advertisements
2) topless bar advertisements
3) Jesus advertisements
Interestingly, the first two types promise comfort, fulfillment and hospitality. The third most often promises hell.
For a short stretch, it was every other billboard. One would simply say, “TOPLESS! TOPLESS! TOPLESS! Next exit” or the poetic, “We dare to bare.” Then the next would say, “It’s your choice! Heaven or HELL! Read John 3:36,” and there were two pictures – one of fluffy white clouds and the other of burning flames. Thankfully, my children were absorbed in a DVD (without any nudity and/or hell) so they did not notice or ask questions – but I was fascinated by this back and forth. It was almost like watching a competition or a volley.
I have no doubt that some well-intentioned churches are upset about the stripper ads and so they prayed and organized and raised funds to combat the problem. In my opinion, they have contributed to it instead, and unwittingly created a boxing match of sorts – one jab following another. The strange thing is, as I traveled along, neither advertising was appealing. The topless bars seemed seedy and pathetic, and Jesus seemed scathing and angry. Pathetic vs. angry.
Given the choice, I’d take the Cracker Barrel. You say, "Collard greens, next exit" and I
'm in. 
2 comments:
I have had those same thoughts when driving down to visit my parent in SC. There's actually a stretch on I-40 where there are topless adds for about a mile straight, followed by a few hells.
On another note, do 8 million people really stop at South of the Border? I always laugh when I pass that place. What is more seedy, the topless bar or South of the Border? I think they are neck and neck.
Yes, 8 million. I read it on the Internet - and you know how reliable the Internet is. Actually, I do think the figure is about right. Even more startling is the fact that they have a $40 million advertising budget.
See here: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/news/5836
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