PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
More Technological Doohickeydom
August 30, 2007 on 12:02 pm | In Cultural Commentary |While it’s an admirable goal to “simplify, simplify, simplify,” it’s an unpleasant truth that sometimes technology can help us simplify.
Case in point: as a minister and generally busy single gal, I spend a lot of time in the car going to people’s homes, hospitals or nursing homes, and various Boston destinations. And I therefore spend a lot of time getting lost.
You must understand that while I have a generally good sense of direction and am adept at reading a map, I am the daughter of a woman who regularly gets lost on the way to and from the grocery store, so my bad driving is genetic.
Friends of mine have all had the experience of playing air traffic controller with me and talking me through the streets and highways of Washington/Philadelphia/Medford/Boston/Connecticut/Pennsylvania in response to my panicked calls. Thank God for cell phones with headsets. (Rebecca Carle, I’m looking at you. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten how many times you patiently directed me through the streets of Baltimore over the phone every bloody time we made social plans in the city!)
A few weeks ago I showed up to a church service to find that the congregation had relocated to a neighborhood with which I had no acquaintance. I was to meet a friend there, and I saw her pull up to the church, read the sign, and squeal away in her silver Mini Cooper like something out of “Knight Rider.” How did she know where she was going? Friends, she had a GPS system! She — new in town — led ME to the church just in time for the opening hymn. It dawned on me that this GPS thing might be worth looking into. But I was yet to be converted.
A few weeks later, I went on a road trip to visit MotherBang with my friends Michael and Paul who have a GPS system in their car.
The trip to MotherBang’s is a bit confusing, as it requires a southerly drive and then trips on three ferries over bodies of water (like going to Middle Earth, my friends quipped). NOT ONLY did the GPS system get us smoothly to and from Mom’s, it TOLD US WHERE THE NEAREST DUNKIN DONUTS WAS when we craved iced coffees.
Revelation! Allelujah, brothers and sisters! I saw the light!
Do you mean that after all these years of relying on Yahoo maps and Mapquest to give me consistently TERRIBLE, MISLEADING directions…after all these years of pulling illegal U-turns and screeching around peering through trees to try to find street signs that AREN’T THERE… after all these years of creeping along on an empty tank wondering where for the love of God I can find a gas station… after all these years of trying to navigate through Boston’s Big Dig, clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles while my stomach churns… I can be SAVED from this stress?
You bet I can. Ladies and gentlemen, I am now the proud and excited owner of a Garmin Streetfinder GPS system. And you know what? Although it is yet another piece of very expensive plastic and locates me even more firmly in the category of Americans With Too Many Gadgets, I think it will be a tremendous blessing.
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I am thrilled to hear that you have added GPS to help you get to your destinations safely. By the way - have you discovered that you can program your system to talk to you in the GENDER AND ACCENT OF YOUR CHOICE?? Antonio Banderas can tell you to “turn right at the light”. It adds a whole new dimension to driving alone.
Comment by Susan — August 30, 2007 #
I bought one for my husband for Christmas after a Thanksgiving trip to CA where the rental car came with one standard. By the end of the trip he was calling ‘her’ “Maggie” and caressing ‘her’ in a very creepy way.
But, must say, it (I should say, ’she’ and this one is named Ellen) got us to and from Portland, helped with alternate routes and only seemed to get stressed out twice: once in Seattle where the buildings were too high and once in a city I don’t remember where the hotel address had not yet been plotted so we ended up in front of someone’s house. (Boy would THEY have been surprised!)
Comment by uuMomma — August 30, 2007 #
I need to get me one of them nifty GPS things. Along with near-sightedness I also inherited a genetic defect that gives me absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever.
Funny that someone so smart in so many areas can routinely get lost in parking lots. It’s a humbling experience.
Comment by Comrade Kevin — August 30, 2007 #
We have a GPS in the laptop, and one day we were driving home from Asheville NC on a sunday morning.As we approached Spartanburg SC, I put “unitarian universalist” in the search, found where the church was, and we drove up for Sunday service (yes luckily the church hadn’t moved or met at an off-time).
Comment by StevenR — August 30, 2007 #
I am about to start my first pastorate (yipee!), and seriously, I have such a bad sense of direction that I included a GPS in my terms of call. I also can read a map, but have no innate sense of direction, so I perceive these systems as a gift from God. Have fun with yours as I intend to with mine!
Blessings,
Leslie
Comment by Leslie — August 30, 2007 #
It has long been my contention that when New England really wants to get serious about global warming, they will insist on marking the streets and upcoming intersections with more clarity. All our time getting lost is hard on the planet and its air quality. So congrats on doing your share with the GPS!
Comment by RevElz — August 30, 2007 #
I’m with you on all that. I am also really, really prone to getting “turned around” (I don’t usually consider myself ever lost). I recently experienced the wonders of a GPS device during my trip to Atlanta, Pensacola and New Orleans. Wow. It came with the car rental for an extra $7 a day. Worth it!! My friend and I didn’t even have to THINK about losing our way. We could pull over and get something to eat without having to worry about going off course or interpreting our printed maps backwards.
I thought it would be distracting to have a device on the dashboard, but no - it’s awesome!
By the way, I think mapsonus.com is the best online mapping system. Google maps is a close 2nd. Mapquest is horrible. Not that you need to worry about that anymore.
Comment by h sofia — August 30, 2007 #
I occasionally carpool into San Francisco with a couple who have a GPS in their new vehicle. It was a safety consideration for them - she does not prefer to drive and unfortunately cannot read maps in the car without getting carsick. They purchased a GPS so he wouldn’t have to read the map while diriving.
It also has a secondary benefit in that corrections when one is off course are delivered in a plain non-judgemental voice without a preferatory “Why did you….” and the rather icy “YOU were SUPPOSED to…”. Probably is helpful to maintain marital harmony.
Comment by BJ — August 31, 2007 #
I get lost all the time–My son says, please, mommy, don’t take a “longcut” this time. we have one of these things and it is wonderful! The voices are fun to play with, too.
Comment by Madgebaby — August 31, 2007 #