Dear Reader,
Every year I look forward to reading the Write a DearReader Contest entries, and this year didn't disappoint. The quality of writing was outstanding. Today's Honorable Mention piece was written by Robin Ball. Thanks Robin for sharing your story with us.
"You have reached your destination."
No, no I have not unless a vast, open field with a solitary tree is the location of the restaurant where my friends have chosen for this week's girl's night out. It does have a nice water view which would make for a beautiful place for drinks and snacks but that is not in my immediate future.
Okay, let's put that into my GPS one more time. Now, this time the GPS is refusing to talk to me--at all. We are having our first fight and I am not winning this one. The silence continues as I plead, beg, bargain and finally apologize for my lack of understanding. My phone is in the cup holder but unless I stop the car there is no way that my WAZE or Google Maps will be of any help. Plus, these two directional devices have not really been useful these past days--another (long) story.
No worries. I pull into the next driveway which just happens to be a private golf course with a lot of limousines, people in tuxes and long gowns, and what looks like a very happy bride and her groom. "Oh, hello. Congratulations, and is there any chance any one of you is good on directions?"
This is not a made-up story; this happens to me all the time. I have made SO many friends and connections simply by being lost, and being too panicked not to ask for help from strangers and other aliens. That issue seemed to have been resolved with the invention of GPS. I had my car trained to go where I needed to go, we formed a strong bond even though at times tenuous when she failed to heed the address I tried to input; it was a good relationship. And then it ended. It was time to get a new car and to pass this one on to my son.
There is definitely something wrong with my purchase; my old car navigation system and I had no issues. She would often sigh "recalculating" as I passed the turn she warned me was coming up, sailed on by as she seemed to screech "NOW. NOW WOULD BE GOOD." I just wasn't feeling it, thinking there had to be a better way than the one she directed. She would suggest that I make a legal U-turn in one hundred feet; however, there are never any legal U-turns unless I count the driveway just up ahead. But she stuck with me, got me safely to the address I requested after a few more recalculations and suggested new routes.
This new car and her GPS just don't seem to care about me.
They have often fooled me into thinking that everything was under control and there was no need to worry; leave the directions to them. I am telling you, the previous owner of this car must have loved the beach, open fields, and forgotten roads and highways; a true explorer who loved adventure passed this car on to an unsuspecting me. It is useless. Once I put "Home" into the system finding myself headed to Long Island, New York which is a long way from my home in Connecticut.
I have finally decided that the next time I find myself lost, I am just going to drive in a straight line as my daughter had once instructed me that the worst that could happen was finding myself in Canada; she assured me that Canadians are friendly and welcome strangers who need directions home.
-- Robin Ball
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
This month's Penguin Classics book is THE PENGUIN BOOK OF DRAGONS, edited by Scott G. Bruce. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.
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