A road map always tells you everything except how to refold it.

(Anon?)

Thoughts about maps and roads:

I hate road maps. The foldy kind at least. I like the books, in large print, with a spiral. Currently, though, I don't own a Pittsburgh one. So the other day I drove until I got to a fork and then followed the convertible, and voila! I knew where I was. Oh, it was deevine.

But my favorite map right now is a map of the world. I click on my site meter to see where people are that read my blog. Oh, it is so much fun. I've had visits from Austria, Australia, Phillipines, and even Pittsburgh. (Oh, that was me.)

I've even had at least one visitor from Poland!

When I was in college, the church I went to had a map of the world on the wall and little red push pins where missionaries lived. It had the name-places in the language of that country. So Warsaw was Warszawa and Cologne was Köln and so on. I visited the map faithfully, fingering Warszawa and then picking out other places I'd been. It was comforting. I couldn't see my family, but at least I could see where they were on the world map.

Rule of driving in Pittsburgh: if you want to know where to go, follow any stream of two or more cars. In a traffic jam, follow any one car that is going away from the jam. They know a shortcut. (I've found at least two of my favorite 'cuts this way.)

My dad is fond of saying, "Have you got your Kit Carson Trailblazing Kit?"

I'm off to ze Poconos--I'll be back in a week (sooner if I can wrangle the laptop from my dad...) Read my archives. I think they're great...