The High-Lighted Path

I’ve never really been interested in GPS systems. They struck me as unnecessarily complicated, ridiculously expensive & pretty much a waste of time for someone with the superior map-reading skills that I possess. Of course it’s also been pointed out to me on a number of occasions, that I tend to be a bit resistant to giving up my old ways of doing things. Why should I? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… right? For example, I was the last supervisor in my building to computerize my office, the last person in my family to get a cellphone, & when I wanted to start a website, I taught myself HTML and wrote my own code rather than use Frontpage. So is it any surprise that when my Dad asked me if we wanted to borrow his GPS for our trip to DC & Pittsburgh, that I didn’t even consider it? Why should I? I had my MapQuest directions all printed out. I just didn’t have the time or the need to learn all that silly GPS stuff! Thanks Dad, but no thanks!
So we’re packing up the car on the eve of our departure, and our neighbor, Shannon comes strolling over with what looked suspiciously like a GPS system in his hands. He insisted we try it. We told him, “we’re not techies”… “we might lose it”… “some other time”… “too late now”…(please don’t make us)… but he would hear none of it. He sets it up with the address of our Washington hotel and assures us that there is really no possible way we’ll run into a problem that he can’t talk us through over the phone. We were cornered. It was either hurt Shannon’s feelings, or just humor him if only for this first leg of the trip to DC.
So off we went, with some sexy-voiced, big-bosomed gal (I could tell!) leading the way from inside that Garmin. But you know what else I noticed? Not only did she know what street we were driving on, and when to turn right or left, but she also knew the very names of the streets we were driving by, AND the lay of the land… amazing! We got off the highway near Richmond to get a bite to eat and almost the second we turned the wheel she knew it, but what was even more remarkable, was that she didn’t freak out that we got off the “highlighted path”, nor did she cop an attitude (like we sometimes do with each other)… she just calmly said, “Recalculating”, and then gave us updated directions. Hmmm…We both found this to be an interesting thing to say when you thought someone was ignoring your best advice, so we decided to test out this babe to see how much she could take. When we came out of McDonald’s, instead of following her instructions by turning right out of the driveway to get back on the “highlighted route”, we simply drove around the McDonald’s a few times, and sure enough, with every wrong turn we took, there was that calm statement, “Recalculating”, with absolutely no hint of sarcasm or irritation in her voice. I guess that’s when she won us over. From then on, all the way to Pittsburgh and back, we just relaxed and trusted this gal to get us where we wanted to go. (OK, so maybe I was wrong about the big bosom!)
So I got to thinking, what if I could buy a GPS to use in others areas of my life? What if I could wear it in my ear like a hands-free device and every time I was faced with a decision, big or small, this reliable gal would tell me the best path to take? You know… choose this college… quite this job… dump that guy…take this trip… and when I didn't listen and went my own way, I would hear her lovely non-judgemental voice…“Recalculating” and telling me exactly what to do to get back on that highlighted path? Would this be a good thing? I wonder. When I think of the many poor decisions I’ve made along the way, (and there have been lots), it seems to me, that the most important life lessons I’ve learned thru those times, about myself & the people around me, have been discovered while struggling to make my way back to the “highlighted path”. It’s interesting food for thought though. What do you think? I’d love to hear your comments!
(But when it comes to all future road trips the verdict (or shall I say the Garmin), is IN... MapQuest is OUT!)