“Life in the fast lane! Surely make you lose your mind/Life in the fast lane! Everything all the time.” (Life in the Fast Lane, the Eagles 1976 Hotel California Album) This song was a smash hit by the classic rock group the Eagles on their 1976 Hotel California album. The title came from singer and guitarist Glenn Frey when he was riding in a friend’s car. This friend was driving 90 miles per hour down the highway when Frey saw the speedometer and asked why they were travelling so fast. “Life in the fast lane, buddy.” A life on the edge. Can a whole song be a metaphor for life lived too hastily and dangerously? This song aptly describes the lifestyle of living as much as you can, as quickly as you can. This is not a good way to live. However, everyone has their own choice of how to live, but it is better not to live in the “fast lane.” For example, in Joyas Volardores, Doyle compares the lifestyles of both the slow lane and fast lane.

Fast lane? There are many, many more wrecks in the fast lane than in the slow lane. Both lanes end up at the same destination, but take a guess at which one gets there quicker. Some can look ahead and see the wreck and then change lanes before they get to it. One does not always have to live in the slow lane, but it is safer and the road is much longer. The heart is like a finely tuned engine, and like all engines it can only run so fast for so long before it gives out. So try and get the best mileage out of it as possible.  “It’s expensive to fly.” (Doyle 95) What is the cost of a life lived “in the fast lane”? According to Doyle, it is “a life closer to death.” (Doyle 95) Many would choose to use the cliché phrase of how proximity to life-threatening experiences make them feel more alive. Possibly. First, what does “life in the fast lane” mean? In today’s culture, a “life in the fast lane” might refer to blatant use and/or abuse of illegal drugs, in addition to promiscuous sex and drinking. Now, having a nice night on the town isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Almost everybody will do it at some point in their life, but everything in moderation. Studies show that too active of a sex life increases the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Also, illegal drugs are illegal for a reason. Marijuana kills brain cells and can cause permanent brain damage if used too often. Smoking in any form causes damage to the lungs as well as myriad other health problems. Look it up, it’s true. In Joyas Volardores, the example of a fast lane lifestyle is that of the hummingbird. Doyle lays out statistic after statistic of how fragile the hummingbird is, but he focuses mainly on the heart. Why? Well, the heart is the organ which keeps one alive. Yes, the brain is constantly sending the involuntary pump message to the heart all the time, but it is the heart that actually pumps the blood through the plethora of blood vessels inside each body. However, in Joyas Volardores, the heart is given both a physical and metaphorical aspect. The physical aspect has been mostly covered, but there is one more important statistic. In Joyas Volardores, Doyle says that each heart, no matter what being it is in, has roughly “two billion heartbeats to spend in a lifetime.” (Doyle 95) Now, as a stand-alone number, that is a truly great amount. Then that number can be divided according to how many years someone plans to live. Then it is divided by each day of the year, then each hour, then each minute, all the way down to each second. How fast is that heart pumping? What must be done to maximize each beat? Fast lane or slow lane?

Metaphorically, the heart represents life, feelings, and memories. It needs support. Someone to take care of it because it can be built up for years and years but broken in a second. “You can brick up your heart as stout and tight and hard and cold and impregnable as you possibly can and down it comes in an instant, felled by a woman’s second glance…, your mother’s ancient papery hand…, the memory of your father’s voice early in the morning.” (Doyle 96) Again, it comes down to how someone choses to live. Fast lane or slow lane? Each can have its full share of heartache or joy. “So much held in a heart in a lifetime.” (Doyle 96) The heart needs support. “Everybody needs somebody to love.” (The Blues Brothers) Companionship is central. When driving down the road, a copilot is a wonderful thing to have. The copilot can keep the driver awake and aware as well as give directions and, most importantly, the copilot keeps the driver company. Each relies on the other for support, but the copilot also may only run along for so long. They can choose their own path as well. Everyone can choose their own lane.

The slow lane. A much longer road than the fast lane. The slow lane can be much easier than the fast lane. In the slow lane, people take regular stops and enjoys the sights. They stop to refuel and grab a bite to eat. Now, sometimes the ones in the fast lane have to stop and refuel, but only so they can get back into the fast lane and continue speeding by. The slow lane, much more often than the fast lane, is where many find the lasting companionship and support they need for life. People in the slow lane are more able to live life more fully. Many have families that extend for two, sometimes three generations. But at the end of the road, there is one final stop to make and no one ever leaves this stop. This stop is permanent. The heart has run for a long, long time down the road. It has broken down a few times and gotten a jump-start when it needed but now it is totaled. Life is a long road to run down and the choice of which lane to live in is always there. Sometimes, when in the fast lane, the choice to change lanes really is not much of a choice. Sometimes people get pulled over for going too fast and they have to start in the slow lane. The transition is not always an easy one because life in the fast lane can be so fun and distracting that one can forget what is at the end and boom! there’s the end of the road. Living life in the slow lane is more beneficial in the long run. The end can be seen before it is encountered and the preparations can be made. Life in the slow lane is a better life, but every mile is a choice of which lane and that choice is ultimately up to the one on the road.