Back in the day, I was very active in martial arts. I trained 4-5 days a week; I competed at the local, regional and national level; and I was a tournament center judge. When I retired, I was a third-degree black belt in taekwondo.
Most regional tournaments were close enough I could drive. One competition was about four-hours away in a neighboring state. To get to the venue, I had to pass through Thomasville, Georgia.
I’m embarrassed to say that I got lost in a town that was only 15-square miles. It was like being sucked into Alice’s Wonderland. No matter where I turned I could not find my way out of town. The directional signage in town was no help. I was frantic. (This was about eight years ago, before I had a GSP, and MapQuest was the go-to for route assistance.)
At my most desperate moment, I saw a fire station. I parked in the adjacent lot and walked over to the firefighter standing in the engine bay. For future reference, always ask the man in uniform for help.
I told him I had been trying for an hour to leave Thomasville. I had to get out of that city and could he please help me. He chuckled and said lots of people felt the same way. He gave me outstanding directions, and I was finally back on my way.
The upside to that trip was that I placed second in Forms and Weapons at the tournament, and was given a Judging Award.
I took a different way home.
Thin spiral notebook 
What a stunning entry; makes me want to see more of your work.
I’ll be following you from now on. Have an amazing day! 🙂
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Thank you for your kind words, Yousuf.
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You’re very welcome, Tara.
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I can relate to this. There is an area of my town that seems to be in a time warp or Wonderland or some such. Every time I drive down one particular street — which runs at an angle and not directly north-south or east-west — I always end up someplace other than where I expected. The street never crosses the streets I think it will cross. Like you, I now take a different route. Fortunately this isn’t an area of town I have to visit often. lol
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If I didn’t have a GSP in my car (and I take it on hikes sometimes), I would be perpetually lost. I have a terrible sense of direction. I’ve been grateful for the compass on my smartphone on several occasions.
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