August 28, 2008
"A new gadget that lasts only five minutes is worth more than an immortal work that bores everyone" --Francis Picabia.
I bought a new gadget recently, a GPS, and I am in love with it already! Don't tell my husband though. He hasn't noticed yet.
Since I have to take a road trip soon to an unfamiliar city out of state, a GPS would provide safety as well as a sure arrival at my destination and eliminate countless stops for directions. It makes complete sense does it not?
Additionally, GPS is being used in medicine, commonly called GPS for the body, to help surgeons perform exact radiation treatment for cancer patients.
GPS is used to fly airplanes, track criminals, determine property boundary lines, as well as numerous other important uses.
It is a "going Jesse" as my cousin Al used to say.
I am practicing excuses so I can explain my purchase to my husband so don't mind me.
My longing for a GPS began when my friend Beth bought one for her husband Larry. Of course, she and her son Dylan are the ones who actually have possession of it, and I doubt if Larry ever gets to use it. The same will now be true in our household.
I also blame our own sons for hooking me on this Global Positioning System thing and cementing the idea in my head.
Two of the sons went together and bought a GPS for their younger brother as a graduation gift. Since I am a confessed gadgety gal already, I coveted it immediately. I was very strong though and avoided the urge to purchase one until now.
Earlier in the summer, I attended a family reunion on the east coast and rented a car in Washington, D.C. The car came equipped with a GPS allowing me to scoot around the city and the freeways like a pro, never once getting lost.
That almost sealed the deal right then and there, but what finally pushed me to purchase one was another road trip, this time with the son who has his own GPS. He named his Gigi because the voice on the GPS sounds a bit French and very much human. Gigi only tripped us up once when she insisted on taking us through town rather than on the highway loop. Gigi took us "as the crow flies" to a Chinese restaurant where we wanted to stop for lunch. Her only miscue!
On my D.C. trip, my rental car GPS guide sounded French, too, so I began calling her Suzette. Come on now Suzette get me through this, I would plead. She always did.
As in all things with gadgets, they know more than we do. I learned that GPS never makes a mistake; any incorrect route is due to pilot error. However, Gigi and Suzette correct human mistakes immediately and provide a detour, never leading one astray. You will arrive at your destination in exactly how many minutes they say you will.
I am naming mine Dominique.
Francis Picabia said one more thing about gadgets that applies here: "Only useless things are indispensable." Gigi, Suzette, and Dominique are not useless.
End of argument. Do you think hubby will buy it?
