The Tom Tom Way
By: Margaret Walker
Most everyone who drives today knows of the gadgets that one can use to give them directions to their point of destination.
These are really great inventions and can be updated from time to time as new roads and new subdivisions emerge on the landscapes. It never ceases to amaze me how something can tell me where to go, when to turn, and what road I need to take coming up.
Wonderful! Where were these contraptions when I worked in Florida years ago and had to travel all over the state to conventions, classes, etc.? Somehow I always managed to find my way. Mostly because I would call ahead and get directions to point of destination from the freeways and highways.
It wasn't always easy. Sometimes the human giving me the directions might leave out an important fact...like where I should have turned but did not know it.
I am a woman who can meet most problems head on as my Dad always said, "If you cannot get through, go around, if you cannot go around, go over!" I loved that about him. He saw no obstacles in life that could not be overcome.
So now we come to his spirit taking over in my mind. How was I going to get where I needed to be (before Tom Tom was invented)? How could I find my way and not put myself at risk with strangers?
Well I solved the problem quite easily. I got the directions beforehand. Then I put them on a tape recorder and left a pause between each particular direction. This never failed me.
I look back and somehow feel maybe I should have put my idea on the market long before the Tom Tom was invented... however, I am satisfied that my Dad would have been proud that I used my ingenuity as he taught me so well long ago.
