Destination Nation

I don't even use a watch when I run, so I am not one to know. But, what is the deal with GPS devices? I admit, I have, more than once, used my iPhone GPS enabled map to compensate for lack of planning before or inattention during my journey. I got pretty lost on a run in a new city and used the map to find my way back to the hotel. I even got lost on a forest trail run in my hometown and mapped my way back to my car. And, I have been out driving around and decided to go somewhere I didn't know how to get to, and used my map function to get directions. But, for the most part, I don't want to be tracked by any satellite or reliant on any computer to get me where I'm going.

In contrast, I have been on a few driving trips lately with people who were practically addicted to their GPS device. They seemed actually blind to any information available outside their windshield as they waited for the GPS device to instruct them to "turn right in 30 feet." They even use the GPS on their routine daily trips, the same drive they do every day. Even runners have GPS enabled watches that track their location, pace, time, heart rate, and who knows what else. Not exactly my idea of "getting away" from it all for a run.

It is a little bewildering to me.

Yesterday, while walking from one hospital to another, an older couple, stopped in the middle of a narrow road, called to me from their window and asked, "Is this where we see Dr. Jones?"

"Um, you're in the middle of the road," I said.

"Yes," the lady said, "But it said we've reached our final destination."

"What said that?" I asked.

They both point to a GPS device on the dashboard, with finality, as if it is inarguable once the machine has spoken.

"Oh," I'm starting to get the picture. "Um, this is the middle of the road. You need to park in a patient parking garage and go into the hospital to find your doctor."

They look disappointed. "Can't we just park right here?" They are, according to the machine, at their final destination.