One of the great questions of childhood is, “Are we there yet?” Usually asked on car trips, it gets to the heart of kid life, the qualities of which are: Impatience.
i got lost driving in LA a couple years ago. i had my phone with me but was having so much fun being lost - imagining where the road might be taking me - i just drove around til i found a familiar landmark - like i had teleported myself back to the 80s. it was a thrill.
Oh Tommy. Just yesterday, or was it this morning (checks phone history) while looking up the name of the poet I taught for ten years I felt like I was winning with this dementia thing.
No child of the C21 believes me when I tell them dogs used to take themselves for a walk.
Oh my gosh, I think about this topic a lot. The thought of growing up with my parents having access to my whereabouts makes me shudder. I hate to contemplate and can only imagine the extents I’d have gone to to thwart them (extra burner phone, real one left where I was supposed to be?).
As for GPS and directions, I use it more than I’d like. I tell myself doing so frees me up to reflect, take in the views around me, catch up on listening to whatever books or podcasts I have on the current list. But as someone who has long traveled—both before and after these maps built into our phones—I’m acutely aware I’m missing something essential from those days of paper maps. Maybe it’s the understanding of the geography now given over to a device without which I’d, let’s be honest, not only be, but also feel lost without.
But I think it’s deeper than that—a sense of self within space now thwarted by a machine being responsible for knowing where I am and where I’m going maybe.
You are pointing to something very important here—our growing dependence on certainty is making us more anxious and we still don’t have certainty, it’s a fools errand. It makes us think we know when we don’t and that can be dangerous. The example of knowing where your 15 year is at all times but not aware of their suicidal ideation is unfortunately so true.
Uncertainty has a lovely thrill to it too. It makes the heart race, it makes us curious, alive.
A car trip with a physical (paper) map across my home country was one of the best experiences I've had. Getting lost and having to improvise always makes a good story. Love this text!
Your writings are meditative for me … always making me think and consider. I’m constantly grateful for them like a delicious juicy peach I am joyful to consume.
I don't use GPS, and a lot of the LA landmarks I depended on for 35 years are gone. Nonetheless, I find my way. Also, absolutely NO one will drive with me. Which I kind of like. When I go places with others, they drive. Once, my son (then 25) asked me to pull over. I thought he saw someone he knew, or I have no idea. Anyway, he jumped out of the car. I've become a punchline in my small circle of friends. (She'll be late, never find us, etc.) Somehow, I always arrive on time. Re knowing your children's location, well, that's a two-pager. But the end game is, I don't. If something happens, I'm sure I will be informed. Uncertainty is 99% of life. Great post. Thank you.
I’m telling my age here and a lot more by myself. My first car had Apple CarPlay. I drove everyday to work from New Jersey to New York for years with the maps app on and still couldn’t tell you how to get there without it. I drive a 2007 CRV here in Birmingham, and replaced the head unit with one that has Apple CarPlay. There’s a comfort in just having the gps on for me even if I know where I’m going- I think that’s just anxiety for me. Going to try and turn it off a little more often and see what that feels like. Thank you.
i got lost driving in LA a couple years ago. i had my phone with me but was having so much fun being lost - imagining where the road might be taking me - i just drove around til i found a familiar landmark - like i had teleported myself back to the 80s. it was a thrill.
Oh Tommy. Just yesterday, or was it this morning (checks phone history) while looking up the name of the poet I taught for ten years I felt like I was winning with this dementia thing.
No child of the C21 believes me when I tell them dogs used to take themselves for a walk.
Oh my gosh, I think about this topic a lot. The thought of growing up with my parents having access to my whereabouts makes me shudder. I hate to contemplate and can only imagine the extents I’d have gone to to thwart them (extra burner phone, real one left where I was supposed to be?).
As for GPS and directions, I use it more than I’d like. I tell myself doing so frees me up to reflect, take in the views around me, catch up on listening to whatever books or podcasts I have on the current list. But as someone who has long traveled—both before and after these maps built into our phones—I’m acutely aware I’m missing something essential from those days of paper maps. Maybe it’s the understanding of the geography now given over to a device without which I’d, let’s be honest, not only be, but also feel lost without.
But I think it’s deeper than that—a sense of self within space now thwarted by a machine being responsible for knowing where I am and where I’m going maybe.
Good post, Tommy. Food for thought.
That one must hit you on a lot of levels my nomadic comrade
Agreed. Though I don’t miss the younger, lone female me having to enter a random gas station at 2am for directions.
Good points! You’re making me miss the old days. So glad I got to experience the time before technology! I am for navigation when you need it though.
me too Rosemary
You are pointing to something very important here—our growing dependence on certainty is making us more anxious and we still don’t have certainty, it’s a fools errand. It makes us think we know when we don’t and that can be dangerous. The example of knowing where your 15 year is at all times but not aware of their suicidal ideation is unfortunately so true.
Uncertainty has a lovely thrill to it too. It makes the heart race, it makes us curious, alive.
A lovely thrill
A car trip with a physical (paper) map across my home country was one of the best experiences I've had. Getting lost and having to improvise always makes a good story. Love this text!
Glad you dug it Julia.
Your writings are meditative for me … always making me think and consider. I’m constantly grateful for them like a delicious juicy peach I am joyful to consume.
peachy
Love this
I don't use GPS, and a lot of the LA landmarks I depended on for 35 years are gone. Nonetheless, I find my way. Also, absolutely NO one will drive with me. Which I kind of like. When I go places with others, they drive. Once, my son (then 25) asked me to pull over. I thought he saw someone he knew, or I have no idea. Anyway, he jumped out of the car. I've become a punchline in my small circle of friends. (She'll be late, never find us, etc.) Somehow, I always arrive on time. Re knowing your children's location, well, that's a two-pager. But the end game is, I don't. If something happens, I'm sure I will be informed. Uncertainty is 99% of life. Great post. Thank you.
I’m telling my age here and a lot more by myself. My first car had Apple CarPlay. I drove everyday to work from New Jersey to New York for years with the maps app on and still couldn’t tell you how to get there without it. I drive a 2007 CRV here in Birmingham, and replaced the head unit with one that has Apple CarPlay. There’s a comfort in just having the gps on for me even if I know where I’m going- I think that’s just anxiety for me. Going to try and turn it off a little more often and see what that feels like. Thank you.