And we could probably stop this whole missive with the title, but we aren't going to, because I'm way too talkative for that! I'm not telling you anything you haven't already figured out for yourselves by now, but I do think you ought to know about The Abilene Trip. It was a pretty cool thing, not entirely without humor, and is worth the telling. And, most importantly, I'm going to tell it, so there you go!
It all started with an invitation from Gina, who's from the guild in Abilene. (I'm still trying to figure out exactly what a guild is, by the way, but Gina's in one, and Jenny used to be, so let's take that at face value and move on!) It seems that someone scheduled to speak at their monthly meeting was suddenly unable to do it, and they needed a stand-in toot sweet. Gina, bless her heart, actually reads this blog with some regularity which makes her a Regular Reader of sorts, I think, and noticed the part in one of my previous ramblings about Jenny moving to Texas. Phone calls were made, e-mails sent, an invitation given, and agreement reached. It was off to the Windy Wilds of Abilene for us!
Abilene is a really neat Texas city, around 180 miles give or take (that means I don't know how far it is) from the house. No sweat, GI; I can find Abilene with my eyes closed, and our Number One Vehicle, Gadget (so named for all the electronics packed aboard her tiny frame) can find anything, anytime. Just put in an address and there you are. Except, of course, that she had trouble with Abilene. She did ok getting us through the maze of confusion in South Memphis, and has navigated several major US cities without a hitch, but Abilene taxed her to the limit, it seems. Lessee now, how did it go...
"You should probably turn here."
"Here? Why? Gadget says go straight."
"Well, they're meeting in a church, and all the churches are over there, not straight ahead."
"How can you tell?"
"Because I can see them. Turn here."
"Where?"
"HERE!"
So turn there I did, because sometimes it pays not to argue. Mostly it pays not to argue, but I've never been that smart, but in this case I did the Right Thing and turned right, thus avoiding the normal festivities that result when one refuses navigational advice and turns where they think best, thereby prolonging the journey by some undetermined, but highly uncomfortable period of time. And there, almost right in front of us but a couple of blocks over, was the church. We'd done it! Well, almost, anyway. There was that part where I lost track of where Gadget was in relation to the rest of the world and cut in front of that car on a one-way street, but we aren't going to talk about that and, besides, I was only going one way!
We got there anyhow, and managed our arrival without any further drama, although there was that tiny bit of confusion about which part of the church we were supposed to go to. We got that one figured out with the assistance of a really nice guy that turned out to be the minister, and arrived at The Place. We got gadget unloaded and got everything set up by the appointed time and away we went, in a manner of speaking, speaking being what this is all about. I'd never seen Jenny in action before, and thought she was pretty darned good. I think the ladies of Abilene thought so too, because there were a lot of good questions and some really great discussion. New friends were made, and we're looking forward to going back there some day. (A couple of people asked me questions too, but quickly found that to be A Really Bad Idea because I don't know anything about quilting. They were nice about it, though...)
Speaking of which, Gadget got a little confused going home too, just before the road turned to go into Santa Ana. I'm thinking she (Gadget, that is) must have a friend in San Angelo, but then Gadget has gotten confused there too, and at Fort Chadbourne as well, so maybe that's not the case---maybe she talks to a satellite that has trouble seeing West Texas. Who knows? The main thing is, we got home ok, and really enjoyed the trip. Many thanks to the fine folks in the Abilene Guild, and we hope to see you again soon.
As for Gadget's nav system, all I can say is I think we need a new copy of "The Roads of Texas". So much for technology!!!
hasta bye bye,
phil
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