You Don't Need A GPS

Have you ever gotten lost? Made a wrong turn that put you out on a street you had never heard of? It’s not hard to do in Charlotte because of the fantastic lay out (ha ha) of every street turning into something else, dead ends when you least expect it and huge intersections of at least five roads.

Well I am one of those people that does not own a GPS. I don’t want one. We can’t rely on computers for everything. I will give the credit to my father; he gave me a pretty decent sense of direction. I can’t tell you if I am going north or south at any point in time, but…99% of the time I know exactly where I am and what streets are parallel, perpendicular or coming up. I also don’t like written directions. I like to see an overview of a map (like the maps on Google). Let me look at it for two minutes; let me get an “overhead” view of where I am and if I need to make rights or lefts onto the next street and I am good to go.

Well yesterday, my iPod got the best of me. I was 100% distracted while running and singing “Even if the sky is falling down? Down, Down” (thank you Jay Sean!). I love to go for a run around 6:00 because I get distracted by the large houses in our area and the families that occupy them; it takes my mind off running. It’s like jogging in a little fairy tale picture book of tree lined streets. With the iPod going, my curiosity for new homes, I turned into Forest Gump, “I just kept on going.” I was running through new neighborhoods that I had never before explored when the sun started going down. I then realized I honestly had NO CLUE where I was. I had been making rights and lefts like it was my job, weaving my way down sidewalks until I was clueless where they headed.

I’ll be honest, I slightly panicked. Sure, I don’t look like a serial killer so any of these people would have let me walk up their driveway and ask for a ride back to Eastover, but...my pride was too good for that. That’s when my “overhead map” of Charlotte popped into my head. I knew I was somewhere in the square of Wendover, Providence, Fairview and Sharon Road because the only other major road I had crossed over was Sharon Lane. The next street sign said Arbor Way. Never heard of that before, so I kept running…passed Beresford Road. Nope, never heard of that either. I thought to myself, "Eventually I would have to recognize something." Red Fox Trail – BINGO. I have seen this street sign before. My only choice was to make a left and I was on foot again. I eventually got to Foxcroft Rd. Sweet! I have heard of this too. Looking down Foxcroft I could see cars going faster than if they were in a neighborhood. Yes, a major road! I ran that direction and popped out on Sharon Lane. Whew, I knew exactly where I was but I was not even close to Eastover! It’s ok though, I made it out. Only 3 miles until home!

Moral of the story, you don’t need a GPS, I promise. Pay attention to street names when you are driving. Have an idea of where you “sit” on a map at all times. If you always know your location on a map you will never be “technically” lost. You just have to make it back to a major road which will lead home. You might not be taking the fastest route but, I promise you, you will learn so much more than relying on a British accent to tell you five times “turn left in 1.2 miles”, “turn left in 1.1 miles”, “turn left in .9 miles.”