A few months ago I bought a TomTom GPS for a long trip I was taking. I have since discovered that owning a GPS means I will now venture into the previously scary world of City Driving.
I grew up in a suburban/rural setting. I am not accustomed to the free for all known as Boston Driving. Nor do I know my way around Boston or Cambridge or Somerville by car. And Medford positively scares. I always manage to get lost in Medford. However, lately I have found myself driving around Cambridge, Somerville, and even Watertown(!). All because I have the TomTom.
You see, with the GPS I no longer worry about getting hopelessly lost and ending up in Lexington when I really wanted to be in Back Bay. (I actually haven’t done that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.) Not that I no longer make mistakes with the GPS. Sometimes I miss a turn, or the GPS leads me to a dead end. But, at least I know I can get out of the jam I’ve found myself in. TomTom will recalculate my route, and off I’ll go, back on the right track.
With TomTom stuck to my windshield I have ventured forth to a friend’s condo in Central Square, a house party in Chestnut Hill, a liquor store in Watertown, a movie theater in Davis Square, and the wilds of New Hampshire. Before I would have made these treks with trepidation and been full of stress and anxiety as I made wrong turn after wrong turn, but now I confidently pull out of my driveway and make my way through streets that range from vaguely familiar to outright bewildering and reach my intended destination within a reasonable time.
I imagine that after driving with TomTom as my co-pilot, I will eventually learn where everything is and how to get there by car.
