This morning I was halfway to Tallahassee when I realized I’d left my phone at home. I came close to turning the car around and going back to Doright Manor to fetch my little rectangular lifeline, but resisted the urge and continued on into town.
I’m not going to lie; I felt helpless without it—not nearly as helpless as I felt when I lost the phone at Whole Foods last week, but that’s a story of its own.
Then I remembered those days when my daddy drove us from Floydada, Texas, to Los Angeles, California, without a cell phone or a GPS. He did it with maps and a pocketful of change for phone booths along the way. Freaking amazing.
Today’s kids need to remember the bravery of their grandparents and great grandparents who crossed deserts in cars without air conditioning. Monuments should be erected to those brave souls who didn’t have heated seats when driving in blizzard-like conditions across the plains of North Dakota.
And lest we forget, we should all pay homage to those pioneers who continue to physically insert keys into ignitions or manually roll down windows or drive in reverse without the benefit of a backup camera. I’ve done them all and lived to tell about it. Hear me roar!
Those of my generation might never have driven a team of mules through the muck and mud of an unpaved, rut-infested road, but by golly, we’ve had our share of hardships.
Now, I think I need to go back and get that phone.
Peace, people.
Praying for Eyebrowz 
You brought back memories of cross-country vacations in a station wagon with no air conditioning pulling a pop-up tent. No fast food along the roads so Mom would pack sandwiches to eat along the way. At the time we thought we were living with all the modern conveniences. My grandparents lived on a farm with no plumbing and my mom and her two sisters rode the one horse they had to school (the three brothers had to walk!). Remember hanging your hand out the rolled down window to catch the wind? I really enjoyed your post, Leslie.
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We did all of those things. Sandwiches at roadside parks. Lying in that space over the backseat. What happened to that space?
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I did not have a cell phone until my late 40’s when my employer provided me one for work. Amazing what you can survive without when you do not know any other options exist. Today the worst possible feeling is when I have left my phone at home like you did. I am paralyzed on the verge of a panic attack until I remember I got by without one for almost three quarters of my life!
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It is crazy!
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It’s amazing how quickly we turn technological innovations into basic creature comforts. I never had heated seats until I bought my Kona last year, and now, I can’t imagine driving during the winter without them!
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Omg! I just bought a little Kona! It’s my run around town car and I’m in love with it. Her name Is Little Red. First car I’ve died named.
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Ever named.
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Ooh, what color? I haven’t ever named a car personally, though I’ve been tempted.
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She is red with black trim. Black and white interior.
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Same color as mine! https://swingedcat.com/2020/08/16/to-all-the-cars-ive-loved-before/
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They’re twins! I think I’ve written a similar post to yours. I might’ve even titled it similarly. Must go check now.
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Whaaaat? Never heard of heated seats here in Italy 🙂
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They’re the best! Even here in Florida when my back hurts I’ll turn on the heated seat.
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Frankly, it does sound like “civilisation” going overboard! Anyway, enjoy I guess!
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They’re totally a thing here in colder climates!
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What has become of us?! My husband, invariably, forgets his phone when we are headed up to the store three miles from home, and always the conversation: Should we turn back? When I was growing up, we drove from New Jersey to Miami Beach every year for vacation. God knows how we did it with my mother navigating from the paper map!
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Right?! I can remember stopping at a phone booth in some small California town so daddy could call one of his great aunts to get directions to her place.
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I actually recently bought an atlas to plan a road trip to Colorado to see my daughter. Who needs GPS when it’s mostly all highway driving anyway. As long as I know highway numbers who needs anything else 😉
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I’m an atlas lover. Any time we get a new car I purchase a new road atlas. Even my new little runabout that’ll likely never roam over 100 miles from home has an atlas.
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Rectangular lifeline 😂
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😉
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I only smile cos i never know where mine is. But hey there’s things re cars and other bits of life I would never do without x
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I literally get the shakes when I can’t find my phone.
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One of my favourite ever songs. Throughout my childhood we had no car, no phone, no pets, in a rented maisonette – but didn’t think we were poor – that’s why Roger Miller often comes to my ears.
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King of the Road.
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When we were getting ready to leave town to pick MCG up, I pulled out my road atlas that goes on every road trip with us. My daughter at first scoffed and said I could easily just use my phone, but when she started to really look at it, she became fascinated. There is something to be said for the “old ways”. A dead spot in coverage is never an issue with a paper map.
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So true! And when my husband drives us in a long trip I keep the atlas beside me. I find them fascinating as well.
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