Tag Archives: getting lost

Getting Lost & A Good Deed

Posted on by
16

Yesterday, I was supposed to have lunch with a friend but she had to cancel because of a pain issue. My cell phone doesn’t get a good signal in most areas of my house, so by the time I received her text messages, I was already dressed and ready to go. That’s ok though; no harm done. Dad felt sorry for me being all dressed up and nowhere to go so he insisted we should go out anyway. So, we did.

We decided on a town that we have been to hundreds of times via the same route, however, it had been a few months since we were there last. We were talking Trump TV, as we call it, catching each other up on the latest bullshit thrown at us from the tv news or the internet. It was a heated conversation; we totally agreed with each other but the ‘heat’ came from how freakin’ fed up we are with the clown that is pretending to be important. We were so wrapped up in conversation that I missed a very important turn on our journey. Of course, we had no clue.

We drove about 5 miles past the turn until we came to the junction of 14 and 181. The problem is, we were both dumbfounded. Neither one of us recognized where we were or which way we were supposed to go. Dad insisted I go left. I knew something wasn’t right but I made the left.

got lost

I couldn’t figure out what the heck happened. It was almost as if they changed the roads! We had been on the right road and then all of a sudden things were off. It just didn’t make sense. I drove a couple of miles down 14, as Dad told me to do. I knew that wasn’t right. I knew because nothing, absolutely nothing, looked familiar! I turned around. I told Dad, “something isn’t right.” I went back to the junction and made a right placing us back on 181. Still no familiarity. Dad spied a sign that read CC. This was the road that we should have turned on, and I turned right which was the only direction the road went. I was relieved for about 2 seconds and then I realized things still didn’t look right. Nothing was familiar. We passed homes, barns, cow pastures, cemeteries and all were things that we had never seen before! What the hell is going on? We were both confused and couldn’t figure out where the hell we were.

Finally, I pulled into a deserted little cemetery and pulled up Google maps. We went so far past our turn that when we saw CC we assumed it was the right road. It was not. So, we went back to 181 and I made a right, as Google showed me. Finally, we saw something familiar! The turn we originally should have taken; CC! That’s when we realized that we were so distracted we didn’t even realize we passed our turn.

It was a relief to have my bearings back but I still felt uncomfortable and nervous. I imagined how confused and terrified an Alzheimer’s patient must feel when they don’t know where they are; when they’re lost in their own mind, scared with no map to guide them. It was a horrible feeling to wash away. Strange how Dad and I both lost our minds at the same time!

When we finally made it to our destination, we stopped at The Dollar Tree. We picked up a few things and before we finished Dad came and showed me a twenty-dollar bill he found on the floor! He was worried that a little kid might have lost it but that’s a large amount for a little kid to have lost. He hung onto the bill and walked around the store. He was watching folks and how they were acting. He spied a woman around my age walking up and down the aisles looking down at the floor. He watched her for a few minutes. She saw Dad behind her and asked, “You haven’t seen a twenty-dollar bill anywhere, have you?” To that Dad replied, “As a matter of fact, I have!” He pulled the twenty out of his pocket and handed it back to the woman. She was so relieved and so thankful! She told him that she was given the responsibility of purchasing a few things for her Church and she was just horrified to have lost the money her pastor gave her.

We had Chinese food afterward. Lukewarm Chinese food, I might add. I don’t know why they can’t keep their food hot!

We got lost, Dad did a good deed, and our lunch was disappointing but my pain level was down a little. Thanks in part to CBD capsules. I think. Only time will tell for certain.

“Aurora”

Posted on by
14

Have you ever felt like a total dweeb because of your phone? Or some other electronic device? Perhaps you have an app that drives you nuts or makes you feel stupid?

I had an appointment yesterday and when it was over it was after 1 pm and Dad and I were famished. We were headed to a restaurant we had never eaten at before. I would have Googled it ahead of time, but my therapist had recommended it as my appointment was ending. It was called Texas Roadhouse.

I brought it up on Google maps on my phone and pressed “start” to activate Google’s voice assistance, whom I call “Aurora.” This voice doesn’t have a name at all, unlike Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa. She’s known only as Assistant. She has no identity. How sad is that? Anyway, I named her “Aurora.” By the end of this search for the restaurant, I was ready to punch “Aurora” in the face!

I proceeded as directed by “Aurora.” Now the exact instructions she gave may be off, but you’ll get the gist.

“Continue on US 160 and take the MO-13 S exit.” 

Done. Easy enough.

“Proceed to left turn lane and turn left onto S. Campbell Ave.”

Done. Ok. This isn’t too difficult. Yay!

“Make a U-turn at El Camino Alto.”

Crap. A U-turn? Why didn’t we just get off the freeway further down, I wondered. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about a U-turn. Ok. U-turn made.

“In 600 feet, turn right onto W. Cardinal.”

Wait. What? What street? Didn’t see any street called Cardinal. Obviously, I missed it.

“Make a U-turn at Republic Road.” What she really meant was, “Now you have to turn around and try again dummy.”

Ok. Aurora is directing me to turn around. Let’s try this again. Ok, back to the U-turn at El Camino Alto.

“In 600 feet, turn right onto W. Cardinal.” What she really meant was, “Let’s try this again, dumb ass.”

Crap. Where’s the road? There it is but I’m in the wrong lane. Too much traffic. Missed it again.

“Make a U-turn at Republic Road.” What she really meant was, “Are you freaking stupid? You missed it again!”

Here we go again. Got it. Back to that U-turn at El Camino Alto.

“In 600 feet, turn right onto W. Cardinal.” What she really meant was, “Don’t miss it this time you idiot!”

Yeah, yeah. Got it this time. CRAP. Argh!! This road is the freeway! Grrr…… What the heck is going on? Now that I’m back on the freeway, we see the sign for the restaurant. Ok. Now I have an idea where it is, maybe I can find it without “Aurora.” Tried my best to get over there, still kept getting in the wrong place. At this point, “Aurora” is telling to go here or go there, but I am ignoring her. I can hear her screaming at me, “ARE YOU DEAF? You gigantic dweeb!” Of course, she’s not really screaming at me or calling me names, but boy howdy, I bet she was thinking it!

I finally ended up back on the original road and U-turn. Let’s try this again. Before we got to the U-turn, we noticed there IS a road that we missed, but in our defense, it actually looked like a driveway to the Subway located there and the road sign was hard to see.

Ah-ha!!! Made the U-turn, made that right hand turn onto W. Cardinal and we were on our way. Good thing, because we were starving!! There’s the restaurant!! Yay! Pulled up and parked. We wondered why there were no cars in the lot…. Then we read the sign. Dammit! It’s one of those places that open only for dinner: 4 pm to 10 pm. Seriously? It was only 2 pm! Crap. All that work for nothing.

We were just going to go back to the area of town we were familiar with to find a place to eat when we noticed FD’s Grillhouse not too far from the Texas Roadhouse. Sounds like a plan!! It was actually open! Yay!

We both decided on a shrimp platter, mine with batter-fried shrimp and Dad’s with grilled shrimp. We both got a baked potato. I had cole slaw and Dad had broccoli. I was so parched I drank 3 glasses of iced tea! Dad had his Merlot. I hate wine. It stinks and tastes awful. I almost had a beer, but I was too thirsty.

When our meal came, it was just in the nick of time! I think my stomach was ready to eat itself. The food was great! The baked potato could have been much hotter but the shrimp was delicious!

I’m glad “Aurora” was no longer ‘with’ us. I don’t think I could stand her judgmental little thoughts (imagined by only me) throughout lunch. Whew! What a day!