As I mentioned, the other day, I am on the road this month and some of next. We are currently in the beautiful state of Vermont.
As we made our way up to Vermont, from the also-beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY, we took a combination of highway and non-highway roads. We needed to make good time, but the cute little towns and views from the back roads are too interesting to skip on a road trip. For example, even the tiniest little places are very into Halloween decorations, it seems!
While traveling, we have an old-school paper map (Rand McNally of course!), because sometimes there is no signal, or Google Maps Lady gets confused, or a little too enthusiastic to save us two minutes by taking us down dirt tracks or through the middle of a drug cartel or whatever.
In Schenectady, she sent us on a Loop of Doom. No-one wants to be in a Google Maps Loop of Doom, but it is especially important to avoid in Schenectady. There is no good way to recover. Google Maps Lady said ‘go straight’ where there were three options in front of us, none of which were straight. We took the most likely, only to be ’re-routed’ in a giant loop back to face the same dilemma. We took the next most likely, only to be ‘re-routed’ again and flung out into the neverending neighborhoods and industrial backwaters of northwestern (I think) Schenectady. After our vacation drained away making the next 193 turns, we popped out onto an interstate, and decided to stop for gas. We took the next exit where gas stations were promised, and essentially never found them in another neverending loop of doom. We eventually found a place with gas and a McDonalds and joined several other bewildered-looking travelers just trying to find their way out of Schenectady.
I’m sure Schenectady is fun if you know where you’re going and don’t need gas. I’m just glad we survived the Loop of Doom.
In other news….more Loops of Doom.
Politics for one.
I feel like we are currently in a neverending cycle of vicious words begetting violent actions begetting more vicious words that beget more violence etc etc etc.
We have to find a way to re-route these attitudes even if it means taking a tortuous path through neighborhoods you didn’t mean to visit. We have to be able to accept some uncertain territory on the path to rediscovering civil discourse and genuine debate. We might, for example, have to vote for people whose policies are not our preferred route, just to make sure that we will eventually get ‘back on track’ with the basics.
It seems to me that we need get out our old school Rand McNallys and decide on the route that takes us in the direction we want America to travel, even if it’s a little winding for a bit.
Getting stuck in Schenectady is one thing, but getting stuck in an America that tolerates violence, disrespect, and hatred is a Loop of Doom we cannot afford in this chapter or the next.
PREACH. 🤨