Penny Palace

Penny Palace

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Personal Navigator

Every day there are such wonderful adventures to experience.  Life just gets too busy and we often don’t stop to fully appreciate the “COINcidences”.  Know that you have the services of a “Personal Navigator” to help you plot your adventures.  That's even better than GPS!

Here is an example:
Today I needed to take my truck (Pippy in for service).  The gearshift was not shifting into second gear.  Under normal circumstances Doc would follow me in his vehicle and then drive me home.  As many of you know, Doc has had great back pain for two weeks and can barely get up to use the toilet, let alone drive anywhere.

I did not want to impose on any of my friends or neighbors to fetch me from 20 miles away during rush hour traffic, so I resolved to find another way home.  An estimate for taxi service was cost prohibitive, thus I got on line and checked into Public Transportation!  For those of you in other countries, suffice it to say that Public Transportation in Southern California is NOT an easy or common way to travel.

A course was plotted and I informed Doc of my intentions.  He had numerous concerns:
  • What if you miss the bus and are left standing a long time on the street?
  • What if the buses are too crowded for you to get a seat?
  • What if there are unruly passengers on the buses?
  • What happens when it gets dark and you need to walk in the dark?
  • What if you are too weary to walk that last mile uphill?
  • Will your recent foot surgery be okay with so much walking?
  • What if, what if?


I simply said, “I’m going to ask for a Divine Travel Agent or a Talented Navigator to work this on my behalf and get me home safely”.

***********
The Journey went so much better than I could have even imagined!  It was fun and inspiring!

It took me 40 minutes to drive from the Penny Palace to the auto shop.  I was expecting 4 hours for the return trip.

§  Step 1:  I planned to walk the first mile from the Auto Shop to the bus stop.  One of the mechanics drove me there instead.  Yay!  My wait there was about 2 minutes until the bus arrived during which time I chatted with a very nice guy.  That first step was sure easy.



§  Step 2:  The 50 minute bus ride was very pleasant.  Of the 7-8 passengers on board, one by one they got off until, for the last leg, I was the only passenger on the bus.  The driver was really nice and we chatted for a few miles.  This was better than a private limo!  An entire bus to myself!  So much for Doc’s concern about overcrowding.  LOL  And this driver even gave me a free ticket for the second bus!


§  Step 3:  There was a transition to the next bus and potential long layover.  I got off the first bus, walked briskly for a few hundred feet, and hopped on the next bus which took off within minutes!  That step was completed before I could stop and update Doc on my progress.

§  Step 4:  I was enjoying the ride on the second bus.  Did not know the precise route, merely knew that it would end at the college one mile from my house.  As we were traveling, we reached an intersection just 1-2 miles from the college.  I looked at the schedule and realized there were dozens more stops and another hour before the bus arrived.  L   I asked the driver if there was a stop at the next intersection because that was near where my son Steve works at Kaiser.  That driver was super pleasant.  He replied that Yes, there was a bench there, but if I stayed on until the next stop, that stop was actually at the Kaiser Parking lot!  Wow!!! The time was 5:20 p.m. so I called to see if son Steve was still at work.  Sure enough, he was!  I hopped off the bus and waited in the Kaiser lobby for Steve.

§  Step 5:  It was raining!  I had not counted on that when I planned to walk that final mile home.  Steve drove me from his office right to my front door.   That Travel Agent Angel sure plotted a great course. 

I was home safe, dry, in less than two hours, and the cost was only $1.25! 
Talk about AWESOME!

Thought:  Wherever YOU need to go in your day, ask for a Divine Navigator. It may boggle your mind with the path options which are suggested; options which you may not even have considered.