"Your Destination Will Be on Your Right"

It was the quintessential dark and stormy night, about 20 years ago. I had attended a production of "The Odd Couple" at Linden Hall in Dawson, PA, which is located somewhere outside Perryopolis in Fayette County. It was my first time there.


I set out for home at about 11 p.m. in a torrential downpour on unfamiliar country roads. I missed an essential turn and was now lost on the country back roads of Fayette County. I drove for miles without seeing one business of any kind where I might stop and ask for directions. As I drove I realized that I was starting to get dangerously low on gas. Cell phones existed at the time but regular folks did not have them, so I had no way of contacting anyone about this predicament.

There was nothing to do but drive and pray. I am not the type of person who prays for favors frivolously. I do not pray for good weather or that I find shoes that match my clothes. In this instance, I prayed more intensely than I ever had before that I would find a familiar road or a gas station before I ran out of gas. After about 45 minutes, I happened upon a sign leading me to the nearest highway, got to a gas station in time, and headed for home. There is no way that I had enough gas in the car to get as far as I did that night, so I am convinced my prayers were answered (it was kind of like Hanukkah).

I’d like to pretend this was an unusual occurrence, but the truth is that I’m a bit directionally challenged. The first time I go anywhere, there is a decent chance I may miss a turn on the way. Heck, I once got lost on my first visit to a large Target store. Usually, I realize quickly what happened and just turn around to get back to where I was. It certainly doesn’t ruin my day or anything. If it did, I would spend a fair number of my days in a state of wild despair because I went a mile or two out of my way.

Once in a while, though, it all goes terribly wrong like it did all those years ago in Fayette County. Just a couple of days ago, I was trying a new, presumably simple back route to work. I am still not sure where I took the wrong turn, but I ended up in Economy, PA, where I am pretty sure I’ve never been before. Again, I was in the country, with no business establishment in sight.

However, the difference this time is that I now carry a phone with me that is not only portable, but also very intelligent. My android is a very smartphone, indeed. All I had to do to get myself back on track was to pull over and type my destination address into the navigation app. The phone took care of the rest. A soothing female voice talked me back to work, telling me exactly when and where to turn (“In 500 feet, you will turn left onto Mary Reed Road”). I wasn’t far from work, but without that GPS, I might still be looking for a gas station or convenience store in Economy, perhaps never to discover that my destination would be on my right.

Technology is grand, isn’t it? Say what you will about the dangers of using your cell phone while you’re driving. In certain cases, having that cell phone in the car can save you.