Where am I?

As I was writing the last entry it reminded me of something that happened on Tuesday night. The memory loss thing just keeps happening...early signs of Alzheimer's?...I pray not!

A group of us that used to work together at Spiegel Catalog Store about 37 years ago (that's not possible...yep...I did the math) get together for dinner a few times a year. I have been able to join them over the last 8 years whenever I was in town. Spiegel's, I might add, is also the place where I met and fell in love with my honey!!

I coined the phrase "Spiegelettes" for the 5 of us several years back. There were 8 of us originally, but over the years a few left the group for various reasons...none of which were because we were not fun to be around, of course. I am certain I will mention this group of ladies in future blogs.

Anyway, we called a special gathering to help a former co-worker and friend through a difficult birthday...we won't mention which one, Joyce. I will mention, however, that I am the "baby" of the group!

My plan was to pick up Millie, our former assistant manager...brown noser!!...and bring her to the house before we ventured to The Colonial in our old stomping grounds. Millie lives just 27 minutes from me...well, not really...but that is how long it took me to get to her house. Being away for 8 years...and, of course age...were huge factors in my late arrival. I could not remember how to get there.

I have been to her house before, so I knew she was now a "neighbor". So off I went knowing full well where I was going...or so I thought. I made a few turns like I had remembered doing in the past...but could not find her development. Now, this is where one reaches for their cell phone....but, alas, mine was home on the kitchen counter. After about 15-20 minutes of this riding around stuff...maybe she is around this corner...no, this one...no...I stopped at a gas station for directions...yes, guys, this really works.

Sounds like a good plan, right? Except I could not remember her address. So I asked the clerk for a public phone...remember the days of the phone booths...those were the days. She handed me the phone and said "you can use this!" There are nice people in PA, too! So I grabbed the phone...you all think I am calling Millie, right?? Wrong...I began to call home to ask Lex to look up her address. Wait...I can't remember our phone number!!! Do you think I was a bit stressed at this point?!

Seeing my confusion a few "nice local guys" started to ask where I was trying to go. I said, "I can't remember". Then, I thought...the phone book...duh! I could look up her address myself! (I am still not even thinking once about calling her.) So...I again bother the clerk, who is trying to assist the "nice local guys" with their gas and tobacco needs all the while being pleasant to the "crazy lost woman"...with Minnesota plates on her car, I might add.

I look up Millie's address and am informed by the clerk...and the "nice local guys"..who were all talking at once trying to give me directions so I would move on...that I had to go back the way I came, turning at the next corner, then traveling about 5-6 miles to the main road with a traffic light and turn there. "The development will be on the left shortly after you turn" I am told. Are you with me yet?

So, I get into my car...rattled but beginning to see the humor in all of this...and off I go...turning at the next corner....driving 5-6 miles to that "main road with a traffic light"...hold it right there! This is the very same "main road" I turned on to when I left my road!!! Millie is literally 2 minutes away from me off the same road as me!!! Yikees!!

I arrive at Millie's, where she is standing out in her driveway wondering where the heck I've been. After telling her my tale, she says "Well, it has been a long time since you've lived here...and you did not live in Bath before. I used to get lost, too, in the beginning."

You can always count on a friend to make you feel better. I think I'll buy a map next time I visit that gas station. Do they still sell maps at gas stations?????