My wife gave me “locals directions” today. It’s not the kind of thing she would normally do – but visiting the town you grew up in has a tendency to dull the brain.
Locals directions are directions that only locals would understand. I was sent out to buy socks for our daughter, and midway through the directions she said “turn left where the Pay Less used to be.” Let’s skip the fact that she hasn’t lived here for 20 years and she can still remember where the Pay less used to be, let alone that turning left there sent you to a source for baby socks. Despite these obvious signs of superior intelligence, it only took two days for her brain to settle into the familiar small-town pattern of her childhood, with all of its comfortable limits and easy neglect. Kind of nice, actually. At least when you’re on vacation.
I found the socks without much problem. It seems that small towns don’t have too many corners that could have once held a Pay Less.
The Pittsburgh region is notorious for locals directions. After twenty-some years we finally know what most of them mean, and we knew we weren’t newccomers anymore when we started giving such directions!
But about your wife. That town she grew up in may dull the brain. I’ve been back there more often than she has, and I’m as clueless as you about why you’d turn where the Payless used to be to buy socks for your daughter. I think you actually wanted to go up another couple of blocks. <G>
Glad to see you blogging again!