Lost, that’s where I am. Both literally and figuratively a great deal of the time, but let’s deal with the literally for now.
Here’s the problem: I didn’t come equipped with a sense of direction, not even in a general sense, nor have I acquired one in the course of my travels. Big deal, right? In the grand scheme of things, a lousy sense of direction isn’t much of a hardship, especially when one considers maps and gps and the position of the sun. Well, guess what, I can’t read a map. I can’t program a gps system. And it’s usually dark or cloudy or noontime as I tour parts unknown.
On the plus side, I can tell up from down and, quite often, right from left. When the technical terms start flying, like ‘head north for a quarter of a mile, then turn east,’ well, that’s just gibberish. Some try to guide me with landmarks, ‘turn left at the giant taco,’ which works like a charm as long as the taco is in the middle of the road waving sparklers. Otherwise I sail right on past, oblivious and in a hurry to get somewhere else I don’t recognize.
Other drivers, the ones I’m sharing the road with, honk and tailgate and gesture obscenely. My very obvious predicament doesn’t engender sympathy among my brethren. Their vigorous encouragement to get the $@#! out-of-the-way only adds to the stress. Gas stations aren’t the help they used to be, either. They’re too busy selling lottery tickets and Big Gulps to give you much attention, so the best bet is to ask a customer. Ideally, one who’s driving a truck. Ideallier, one who’s a cop. Idealliest, one who’s a cab driver.
What I need is a navigator. A confident, knowledgeable individual who can get me where I’m going and back again without unscheduled side trips. Someone who knows the ropes. Someone who knows his / her way around this very confusing planet. Or maybe I should buy a bus pass. In a way, bus drivers are navigators, they know their way 
around. Remember Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners? He was a bus driver. Loud and full of bluster, I know, but he probably had a very keen sense of direction.
Me? I’d settle for a vague directional orientation. I don’t need latitude and longitude and equators and degrees, just a bit of insight into which direction I’m heading. I’ve never known, not literally. In the figurative sense, I’m probably better off in the dark.
Copyright © Publikworks 2011.
the whirly girl 
6 responses to “: where am i :”
You get lost all the time – and yet, you have made it this far…
Don’t be so hard on yourself – keep in the slow lane, you’re doing just fine… it seems you just have the ‘man’ gene for navigation, and you’ll not find a man admitting he didn’t know where he was! LOL :-)
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I’m surprised I haven’t wound up in your neck of the woods. Thank goodness the US has oceans on three sides, when I reach one I know I’ve gone too far.
My new trick is to add at least an hour to my travel time (if it’s local), two hours if if’s out of state. Being lost isn’t as stressful when there’s time for u-turns and back-tracking. : )
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hehehehe *snickergiggle* I sooooo know what you mean *grins*
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I’m just glad we don’t have the autobahn like you do.
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Why is that? Whenever I see one of your highways in a movie or so I wonder how on earth people can find their way around there. Everything is soooo huge. See, germany is a very tiny country, you can travel through it from the top to the bottom in less than a day.I think you would actually like here, because: tiny country = much less space to get lost in. Unless you are like me, then you would get lost even in your own town.
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Because the cars go so fast.
Years ago I had a layover in Frankfurt on my way to Switzerland. I didn’t get to see much of the country, except from the air. It was very green and the land was so neatly squared, like a quilt. I would love to go back — my grandfather was German, so that makes me one, too, right?
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