Why is it that some people have an unerring sense of direction, while others, like me, can't find east without a compass, and who carries a compass anyway. I think this would make a great scientific study.
Let's get to the end first. We just bought a direction finder. It is so popular, so successful, which only proves there are more of me than those who have the homing pigeon instinct.
Art is one of those who know where north is no matter where you drop him. He would test me while driving. "Which direction are we going?" "How do I know," I grumble. "The lake is east!" he says, as if that explains everything. "But I can't see the lake," I keep from screaming. He knows the direction because he knows which streets run east/west, and watching the addresses understands which way he is going. I marvel.
Patiently, he tried the Sun Rises in the East ruse. "I can't look at the sky when I'm driving," I smartly retort. He sighs, "Look at the shadows." I always plotted my routes with a map. I love maps. I can picture where to turn when I check out the map. But put a detour in the road, and I'm lost again. Once, trying to get onto the expressway, I found the ramp closed. Thank goodness for the cell phone. "Art," I say, trying to keep calm, "They closed the ramp. I can't get home." He guided me to to next ramp, and how to proceed until I reached recognizable road sites/sights.
I love the direction finder. Her pronunciation is somewhat blurred, but she gives enough warning so that you can figure it out. I don't use it when I really know where I'm going. When I left a house the other day, I asked the man how to get out to the main road. "A right at the second stop sign, a left, and a left." I got in the car and did exactly that. But when I found myself passing his house again, I set the Garmin, and she got me back to the shop safely, bless her.
However, the word I hear most is, "Recalculating." She says it impassively, uncritically. It means that even with all her help, I've overshot the mark. Again.
--Florence
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