Lost

~ oneletterup

One Word Sunday: Lost

Lost. Now here’s a topic I am intimately familiar with. My claim to fame, such as it were. Spatially challenged? Don’t try to follow me to the elevator when I leave a hotel room. It will take a couple of tries before I get there. Those doors all look the same. They do!

My earliest dreams – probably at the age of 6 or 7 – were nightmarish…riding the bus home from school and being dropped off in a neighborhood that at first looked like mine. I’d walk from house to house looking for My House. The familiar ranch with the brick front porch. I became hopelessly lost in those dreams and woke up in a panic. Funny how those memories stay intact.

It didn’t improve with age. I needed a map or written directions for (many) months when driving to a new job 20 minutes away – this was back in 1995. One family joke is…what would happen to some poor soul who asked ME for directions? It’s happened and I freeze.

So, imagine my eternal gratitude and celebration when the Garmin navigator device was invented – replacing the ever reliable AAA Trip-tick with its booklet full of detailed maps. And then miracle of miracles…GPS google maps! Live action and an insistent voice that keeps Recalculating! At least I don’t have to do it.

My email spam folder often provides comic relief – begging me to click on links and apply to work for a major ride sharing company. Can you imagine? They obviously did very little research – if any – as to who they target for advertising. Even with a GPS chirping away, it would be risky business hiring me as a driver.

No matter…I still have a stash of street maps jammed in the seat pocket of my car…just in case. And they always work.

Published by oneletterup

30 thoughts on “Lost”

  4. I have an atlas in my car because for a long time I had no cell service down here outside of places where I could use wifi. I used to love the challenge of hiking in the mountains and not getting lost. It was a little risky (and stupid) but it always worked out. My aunt Martha could get lost driving around 2 blocks. πŸ˜€

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    1. An atlas is a great idea. A few years ago, we outsmarted the GPS with an actual AAA issued map. I usually don’t get lost in the woods. Usually there’s a path, but it feels less overwhelming. Or something. (btw I sound a lot like your Aunt Martha 😁)

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  5. You’re directionally challenged as some would say, aye? When I was about 6 or 7, I got lost in my neighborhood. I visited a friend on another street and couldn’t find my way home. I’m guessing that it was a concerned neighbor that called the police that took me home. I must have recognised my house! Our stories are very similar. I know Las Vegas pretty well but do occasionally use Apple Maps to find a new doctor’s office or something else and I have a very tuned sense of direction from the job I had in the 1980s. The difficulty is real!

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    1. Yes, it is very real – and, especially when you’re a kid – it’s very scary too. It may have happened to me at one point (when I was even younger), which then triggered the recurring dream. Ugh!

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  6. This makes me laugh because my husband is the same. He says the GPS I gave him some years ago was the best birthday present ever and it was! πŸ™‚ I have a pretty good sense of direction but I use GPS on longer trips because of the additional information one it. I have a road atlas in the van also and I like to use it before going on a trip because I like knowing what the entire area is like rather than just watching the GPS.

    janet

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      1. The big advantage of a GPS is that you don’t have to look at it while driving or at least if you do, it’s right there. Unless you have someone telling you what the map/atlas says, it’s a problem!

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  7. I have a feeling you don’t get lost in the woods, but if you have done, well lucky us! I actually have a great sense of direction. Since I loved to wander in the country by bike and foot, it was a gift that served me well as i usually ended up where I began! Apparently my nephews have it too … my sister told me that when they sailed on the Queen Elizabeth, my nephews, then around 6 and 8, knew their way around the ship within the first hour.

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    1. Lucky you having a great sense of direction! I imagine it has served you well. Impressive story about your nephews. Wow!
      Cruise ships are a challenging maze to people like me.

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  8. Oh, dear, you’re not alone in being challenged. I can get lost with the navigation tools. I rely heavily on my family members who are gifted at navigating travels/adventures. Your photo is beautiful and mysterious. Well-fitting for the post.

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  9. I recognise myself in you. My Tuscany map forever in the car’s side pocket. πŸ˜€ The phone died one time too many. And returning from the bathroom in an unknown place is a struggle… We with the paper maps, we are survivors!

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