Travel Time

Many of you are planning to travel over the next few weeks. Whether it is a visit with relatives or friends, this time of year seems so much more special. Ah! the holidays.

Someone in your house is the organizer, the one who researches the path of least resistance to the destination, the motels, where to buy the cheapest gas, what to take, i.e. clothes, food, you name it.

The organizer always has a ballpoint pen and notebook full of notes or a personal electronic device.

In the old days, you just got in the car with a map, a cooler with sandwiches and took off.

Today, we panic if we drive a hundred feet and discover we don’t have our cellphone. A map has been replaced by a GPS with the pleasant woman’s voice giving directions, “after exit 122 on I-75 continue for the next 258 miles”. Children and adults are now calling “the backseat” so they can all enjoy the movies on the DVD player. No one wants to drive. Everyone has earphones, so no need for any chatter.

The organizer has organized down to the minute and then there is the snag in the schedule, a traffic jam, the gas price has increased by 2 cents, the DVD player is skipping, someone is throwing a hissy fit (hissy fits originated in the South if you are not a native, this term usually describes a very irate female in action). What to do?

To be continued after the organizer gets over the hissy fit….