The Calm of Childhood Memories

     It often calms me to recall childhood memories, which is likely why I have written this blog for so long. I am a high strung person by nature who needs the occasional non-caloric, non-pharmacological relief to sooth my everyday anxieties. A pleasant memory, however much it might have been changed by my recall, is a grand tonic that is sold in no store or mixed by any mixologist.

     The picture below is not one of the pleasant memories that serves to sooth. This particular Kodak is of a scorching hot Memorial Day in 1978. With the sunning beating down and the temperature in the 90s, the lead participants ran the first mile in under 5 minutes. For some reason beyond the kin of my recollection I was in that lead group. Considering the fact we had 5 more miles to run our initial burst of optimistic speed was an ominous sign. People who ran more slowly also felt the stress and one of my teachers at RHS literally collapsed and was taken to the hospital. Needless to say, the appeal of running races was lost on me forever after.  The number 909 finished well out of the race and I never competed with an "R" on my chest again.

 

Asking For Directions

      Asking a complete stranger for help, or being asked by a complete stranger for help with directions used to be a normal occurrence. Sometime you knew and you gave good instructions. Sometimes you met someone who knew and they gave you good instructions.

     Nowadays we have the use of Global Positioning Satellites on our phone, watches, and laptops. Unless the satellites are malfunctioning you can be fairly certain about the information you receive. In fact, the information is so good and the use of GPS is so pervasive, it is quite extraordinary to be asked for directions by a stranger.

 

 

 

     Maps. At one time they were given away by gas stations and people gladly kept them in their cars for the security hidden inside them. People still needed to know how to read a map for them to be useful and then be able to fold them correctly if they were ever going to use them again. At any rate, every car seemingly had one or ten of them stashed into a glove compartment or strewn under a seat. Some people actually used to read them before they got in the car to drive, but from my viewpoint they were mostly used by a car in motion, and sometimes by the driver. It's probable a very good thing that cars are now equipped with GPS systems, even if they sound a little bit pushy when they are offering their directions. You really need to know when to turn them off or they will bombard you with useful and sometimes inaccurate instructions to places you have visited often and for which you require no assistance.

     

     Lastly, I have to admit that women have always been better about seeing the need to ask for directions. Now it can be said they are quicker to bring out a GPS of some sort when a general feeling of being lost pervades a group. I might go as far as to say that some things never change.