Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Stopping for Directions . . .

What could be simpler???!


I have no excuse.
I'll let you judge . . .
A woman in our church group, whom I had never met, had just given birth to a tiny, sweet preemie girl.
She had two other children.
And a husband.
I offered to surprise them with dinner.
An easy and painless way to help out.
I made a pot of soup.
Fresh rolls.
And a salad.
Packing everything into a box, I got into the truck and headed out.
Now, I should mention here that I live in a small town.
I've lived in this same small town for nearly a quarter of a century.
Yes, it has grown.
A lot.
But it is still my home town.
And it takes three minutes to drive from one end to the other.
On a busy day.
Twenty minutes later, I was still driving around, looking for this sister's address.
Finally, almost tearful with frustration, I broke down and called her, begging for directions.
“I'm right across the street from Beau Meadow School,” she said. “You can't miss the house. It's brightly lit and there is a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard.”
Now, in our town, that particular school is on what we call the 'ring road'.
It makes a circuit of the entire town.
Meandering through all four quadrants.
It is the quickest way to anywhere.
This woman was on it.
I live just off it.
Our houses were, quite literally, one minute apart.
I finally pulled up to the described house, shut off my truck and carried my now-tepid-meal to the front door.
And realized something.
Not only was this house almost within spitting distance of mine.
But it was a house my son and his family had recently outgrown and sold.
After having lived there for over three years.
I had been in and out of it for that entire time.
I knew it almost as well as I knew my own.
I knew where it was.
And how to get there.
And where to park.
I could have told anyone how to find it.
Only one thing was missing.
I had never noted the address.
See?
No excuse.

13 comments:

  1. But it is so true....we just GO places and never note the address. We're like homing pigeons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's me! A giant homing pigeon in an old Dodge truck!

      Delete
  2. Remember Alfred J. giving directions over the phone? 'Just head down this way until you see the old granary that's falling down; turn that way and drive to the slough then follow the road toward Joe's corrals and we're right there...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like those directions! Not a number in the entire discourse!!!

      Delete
  3. I am so bad at directions - I do the same, figure out how to get there by landmark and never know the street!

    Enjoyed!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's true, we find our way by landmarks. Get to --- by driving along past the --- then turn right where the blue house juts out on the corner.....just don't be asking me what the street names are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm exactly the same way! I used to think it was because I was raised in the middle of the prairies in the middle of nowhere. But recently I've found that city people do the same thing. I think we've just found a better way . . .

      Delete
  5. This totally sounds like something I would do!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh dear.
    I think you need a GPS.lol Seems your town is getting bigger :)
    My girl friend had one and she still took wrong turns. lol
    I am glad you found it finally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. I'm like your girlfriend! I had a GPS. And still couldn't find it!

      Delete
  7. Oh my goodness... this was hilarious Diane, sounds like something I would do... hahaha

    ReplyDelete

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