Finding Pleasure in Getting Lost

Ten years ago, I was driving through Ladoga, Indiana, on my way home from Shades State Park. In the center of town, a road to the south curved temptingly out of sight. (Some men are attracted to the curves on a woman, but I prefer the curves on a road.) I turned south and five miles later entered the town of Roachdale, where I discovered the Roachdale Hardware Store and its proprietor, Charley Riggle.

I have returned to the hardware store once a week ever since and count Charley Riggle as one of my closest friends. Had I had a GPS unit in Ladoga 10 years ago, it would have directed me east on State Road 234 to U.S. 136 to State Road 39 into Danville. I would never have met Charley Riggle and for the next 10 years would have spent Saturday mornings at home working instead of going to Roachdale to visit Charley.

GPS eliminates the condition that has furthered humanity’s well-being and advancement for thousands of years: accidental discovery.

My appreciation for chance stems from my distrust of planning and forethought. A GPS leaves no room for luck or whim and is useless when an unforeseen breakthrough is needed. A GPS will do exactly what you tell it—no less, but also no more.

– Excerpted from “Wrong Turn” by Philip Gulley