I know how to read a compass but I never use one. The stars are just pretty twinkle lights in the heavens to me and I had rather reprogram my universal remote control than try to use heavenly bodies to help me find my way.
We have friends who spent lots of money on GPS systems to guide them but the fact of the matter is – I have never been loss. Oh sure I have been turned around; using a map, GPS or other directional aid is kind of like cheating. I am fairly certain that most men reading these words would agree.
There were times when I didn’t know where I was, but that’s completely different. I mean, we are on a globe, and it is my belief that if ever I became lost, I could simply continue in any direction and sooner or later, I would wind up back where I started.
I did repair work for the phone company long before E911 addresses.
When people gave me directions to their homes, it would go like this, “ you know where John’s barn use to be? Or you have to turn near the witness tree and go a spell till you get to the rusty part of the fence and then bear off to the left until you smell goats.” The weird thing was, I always found my destination.
I have this uncanny sense of direction…well actually; it would be more truthful to say I hold the belief that I have an uncanny sense of direction. Jilda would beg to differ. She doesn’t view the exploration of strange neighborhoods or deep backwoods as an adventure. When we get turned around in the sticks, she’s always listening for banjos. She told me once she would love to be in the movies, just not Deliverance.
Several years ago when Jilda’s mom was in good health, we invited her to fly with us to San Francisco. We had been there many times and she always said she would like to go sometime. The trip had been good and the day before we headed home, we traveled north through Napa Valley and drove through some of the most beautiful countryside on the planet. As the sun slowly sank into the Pacific, Ruby ( Jilda’s mom) was ready to head back to the hotel. I decided to take a route we had never taken. After some time on dark roads, Ruby turned to Jilda and asked if I knew where I was going. Jilda looked at me, then her mother and said in her best Stepford Wife voice, “ yes, he has never been lost.” Her mom didn’t say another word until we got to the hotel.
I never question Jilda’s taste in art, food, music or why she has so many shoes. In turn, she never questions my ability to find my way home.
