How Do They Not Float Away?

[BarryBobPosthole]

In the spirit of 4/20, here's an off kilter topic.

I know three or four people that have no earthly idea what direction they are facing at any given moment. North, South, East, West? Meaningless to them. Giving them directions is a whole nother ball game. More of the 'Turn left at the tree with the pelican's nest' variety.
Any time I get off a plane, get out of my truck, wake up in a strange place, whatever, the first thing I do is establish where North is. Maybe I have some pigeon in my dna. Maybe my ancestors ate a lot of pigeons. I don't know, but know where the hell you are in relation to other shit is a high priority for me. Prolly something to do with feeling grounded to something. Inspection side maybe. Who knows? I can't relate to folks who seem to get by without knowing physically where they are in the world, though.

BKB

[Captain]

Something tells me your internal compass will be imparied to an appreciable level today by some imparing substance...

[BarryBobPosthole]

Might be, but I damn sure know which way I'm lookin'.

BKB

[Thumper]

I'm the same way P-hole. Lynn? Totally opposite! You can dump me off in the middle of nowhere and I'll figure out where I need to go. Lynn, north is south, left is right ... she's clueless 99.9% of the time. Of course, all of her cars now have GPS and a compass ... so it's a little easier for her these days. ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

I love gps technology, but nowadays people would be lost without it.

BKB

[quercus alba]

I watched the newlywed game one time and the question was asked "which direction does the sun rise at your house?" They answered all four directions, including the husbands. I've got a pretty good innate sense of direction myself. My wife can get lost in the bathtub

[Big Muddy]

Me, too, Tpost....my wife says I'm even obsessed with it....I just gotta know what direction I'm facing, at any given time, especially when driving, and looking for a particular address.

Just remember, however, GPS is not infallible, and will get yo azz lost....the GPS directions to our lakehouse, is off by more than three miles, so we just meet our guests at a designated location, and guide them to our place.

I rely on my inner-brain-direction-finder, and most of the time, it's pretty darned accurate.

Wifey, is not good with directions, at all....not long ago, she and some girlfriends were taking g'kids to Biloxi for the weekend....she drove to the gulf coast, and was suppose to turn left(east) on I-10....they were all yakking, and instead, she turned west, and about an hour later, she saw a sign that said, "Houston, TX - 180 miles"....later, she told me they had taken the scenic route, and to just shut up. ;)

[Captain]

I'm the same way. The first thing I want to do when I get somewhere is find my bearings.

[Chicken Dinner]

I'm not afraid to admit that I don't have the best sense of direction. Generally speaking, when driving around, I see the world in elevation view (a series of lefts/rights and land marks) vs. plan view. To compensate, especially when I'm in the outdoors, I have to really pay attention to where I am and where I'm going to make up for it. So, it can be learned. It just doesn't come natural to me.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I think part of it might be from boating experience too. Don't get me wrong, I've been lost as a goose on big water before (more than once) and lucky for me it was temporary and corrected. I think the habit of making mental landmarks is from fishing too.

BKB

[LJ3]

I'm the same way. I don't feel at ease unless I know where I am in relation to my surroundings. I usually don't have to think too much about it.

This does NOT include missing turns when driving :)

[Bwana]

Yep, I can relate Posthole as I too need to know where I am, how I got there, how I can find my way back, etc.

Over the years, I've tried to instill this into my kids. Every now and then, and especially when hunting, hiking, etc. on new ground, I will stop and ask, "Which direction to the pickup?" The first time resulted in blank stares so I said, "OK, I just got hurt really bad and you need to get to the pickup to call for help, where is it?" at which time fingers start pointing in multiple directions. I have to admit, some have learned the lesson better than others.

[Thumper]

"OK, I just got hurt really bad and you need to get to the pickup to call for help, where is it?"

No prob. ... they'd just ask you to point them in the right direction. ;)