We went to Huntsville, Alabama last weekend. Had an awesome time with some close friends from Korea. We drove over on Saturday, going through Chattanooga.
We made a wrong turn off of 24 onto hwy 72. We followed the directions from Google exactly. The directions were wrong.
I felt we had made a wrong turn from the beginning, but we trusted Google. Luckily, our wrong turn landed us back towards Chattanooga, and we were able to internet booty call the E-man and get back on track.
Our first mistake: trusting Google without looking at a map.
Our second mistake: not having an atlas in the car.
Our third mistake: not trusting our own instincts.
Our fourth mistake: stopping to ask for directions.
As we increasingly felt like we were going in the wrong direction, I finally stopped and asked for directions.
I’m old. I understand that. I distinctly remember a time when you could stop at a gas station or other roadside store and some dude would roll his eyes, say something like, “You ain’t from ’round here, are ye?” and you would just humbly admit your own ignorance in submission to this gentleman in exchange for some directions.
Well, nowadays you get some kid at a convenience store who barely passed English and Tech math in some public school and needs the cash register to do such simple things like ADD and SUBTRACT.
So I stopped at this store and asked if I was going the right way to get to Huntsville. The response I received: “Huntsville? Hmmn. I’ve heard of Huntsville.”
You know how you can sometimes immediately tell if something is a lost cause?
Yeah. No Child Left Behind, baby.
So I had Becca call the E-man. I was so frustrated at my own stupidity and public schools in general that I couldn’t really talk. Turns out E-man was a big help in telling us how we went wrong, but I got us back on track using … wait for it … my brain. And I tried not to curse too much in front of my three year old son.
I swear, one of these days I’m gonna write a book called The Dumbest Generation. Our modern gadgets have become our crutches in more ways than one. And living in Georgia, like 49th in education, gives great resource material.
Peace.
p.s. per last statement … yes, I realize Chattanooga is in Tennessee.