Lost and Found

I used to travel on business pretty frequently many years ago when I was a Marketing Manager.  From Seattle to North Caroline, Minot to Harlingen, I criss-crossed the United States at least 3-4 times a year visiting clients in various locations to learn how to do the “set up”, the re-sets for their products and then training the work force hired to actually go into the stores to do the job.  From the Poodle lady of one of my former blogs, to falling out of the elevator in South Dakota I have had some pretty memorable traveling experiences. 

So far my trip to Texarkana has been pretty boring by my usual standards except of course for the ride down.  How is it possible to get lost on a trip to Texarkana from Muskogee.?   I’ve driven in big cities where I managed with only the map from the airport car rental counter.  The difference?  I had an actual map.  I have become so reliant, probably too reliant on my I-phone and my I phone let me down.  I didn’t even mapquest before the trip because I knew I could type into my trusty I-phone where I wanted to go and watch the dot as I traveled until I reached my destination.  I’ve never had the need for a car GPS since my usual travel is from Checotah to Muskogee.   I didn’t drive this trip and so my co-worker Julie was counting on me to be the navigator.   The problem was that from about south of McAlester all the way to DeKalb, Texas I had no phone service.  No internet, no facebook, no map, no gps. 

We were forced to rely on advice from strangers (strange  people) to get us to our destination.  Our first attempt to get directions was to stop in Hugo OK.  We stopped at a Mexican restaurant where there was not one Hispanic person which I found kind of odd.  Had it been a “tex-mex” place I wouldn’t have thought it weird.  But most Mexican restaurants with a name in Spanish has at least one owner or worker that validates that the food is gonna be real Mexican food because they know what that is.  Not here. This restaurant was owned by, managed by and serviced by an entirely African American staff.  Charming, charming staff.  Some of the nicest and friendliest people I’ve come across in a long time.  From the waitress, to her aunt who was in the kitchen, to her grandma who was at the cash register, we got a variety of directions.  Apparently, when they went to Texarkana, they all traveled different routes.  We left so confused about where we were going that we had no choice but to follow the directions of the lady in the parking lot who pointed off in a direction and said go that way and follow the signs. 

We did.  There were no signs.  But our bones felt like we were traveling in the right direction.  So we pressed on. By now it was getting dark and what should have been a 3.5 hour trip had evolved into 4.5 with no Texarkana in sight.  We wound around and eventually came into the city limits of Idabel which we had no idea if it was on our route but it was a town we had heard of and so we felt  a little more secure. 

Not for long.  Now, with upfront apologies to the good people of Idabel,  if I never have to go to Idabel again it will be too soon.  We were so turned around that we weren’t sure if we were going N, S, E or West.  All we knew was that it was getting dark, we were in a Cadillac and needing gas and every possible stopping point looked pretty scary.  We passed what looked like a mob walking down the street.  They weren’t carrying signs and it was not clear where they were headed but for 2 white chicks in a Cadillac the group of about 30-40 angry looking people marching toward us as we headed down a street was a little intimidating.  We stopped a little ways up the road and tried to decide who should leave the safety of the car to venture in and ask directions.  My bladder made the decision and in I went only to find the ladies room out of order.  I used the mens room.  Not the best choice in the nicest of locations.   Not an experience I would ever like to repeat.  Though I did learn a lot about condom choices from the 3 machines on the wall (and on the floor…but we won’t go there cause I just ate).

 The man at the counter was very polite.  He was Arabic  with a very thick accent and the fact that he had maybe 2 teeth in his mouth didn’t help.  I listened as he pointed and rattled off directions that I understood not a word of.  His wife interrupted several times to correct what he said and when I said thank you, and left the store I was more lost than when I went in.   I got back in the car and told Julie we were still lost.  I spotted a woman walking into the store and I rolled down my window and asked her if she knew how to get to Texarkana.  She did and proceeded to tell and elaborate route through Idabel to get to the place where we needed to be to even find the highway to Texarkana.  I got lost after the 2^nd railroad crossing past the stop sign with the big tree on the left next to a green house with the tulips on the porch….. a little too detailed but at least we could understand her.  We decided we might as well get gas before we went any further so we pulled up to the pump and Julie went inside to pay.

She decided to ask the man inside and see if she could understand him and so I watched as she nodded and repeated my experience.  Next thing I know a car pulls up next to me with the weirdest hubcaps I have ever seen.  They were almost as big as the tires which were big.  The car was literally bouncing to the rap music that was playing so loudly that I needed earplugs.  I watched as another car pulled up next to it and the driver of the first car got out with a baggie full of what looked to be “flour”.  He nodded at me and I nodded back realizing that I was witnessing a drug deal right before my very eyes.

Definitely a first for me and not on my bucket list.  I looked over to see that Julie had come out of the store and was now talking to a man who was obviously very old and very drunk pointing this way and that and giving what was yet another attempt at directions.  Julie was nodding and I was in the car hyperventilating.  She finally came back to the car and we headed off in what we hoped was the right direction.  I kept looking in the rear view mirror to see if we were being followed as we drove down the most deserted, dark windy road I have ever been on.   It was then Julie mentioned that the old man had asked her if we had a spare.  Which seemed sinister for some reason.  As the “about 10 miles” stretched into 20 miles on this windy, dark road I was convinced we would not make Texarkana but instead be on an episode of American’s Most Wanted (in the disappearance of 2 women on a dark night in McCurtain County Oklahoma). 

Then a miracle occurred!!!!!  My I phone beeped and a bar appeared in the place that had formerly read “no service”.  I called Joe.  Now, I love my dear sweet husband more than anything  but he does tend to be a little detailed at times.   In what seemed like hours as he turned on the computer (we are still debating whether that is a good idea or not as I keep mine on 24/7 and wouldn’t know where to find the power button) I told him where I thought we were so he could find us on a map and guide us out of the boonies. 

Finally, he got logged on, mapquested it and just as he was about to tell us what to do, the phone went dead again and the no service words appeared!  Luckily, about that time we spotted what looked like a highway and a green sign.  I have never been so happy to see a green sign in my life.  The fact that it said county road 3210 or something like that didn’t matter.  It was a sign of civilization. 

Eventually, the cell service returned and Joe guided us to the highway that would carry us into Texarkana.  5 and a half stressed filled hours later we arrived at the hotel. 

And to think my biggest worry was having to ride with and share a room with a total stranger.  Julie and I have bonded for life.  We are new bff’s.  Our “near death” experience…ok slight exaggeration …..will forever be etched in our memory. 

Once we arrived and were safely in our comfy Marriot room with puffy pillows  we relaxed and laughed about the adventure.   For some reason I went to sleep humming the tune of Dueling Banjos’. 

I now have printed directions complete with a map for our return trip home.  We plan to take a different route this time since Idabel is not on our list of top 10 places to visit .

I’ve been lost before.  Heck, I’ve been lost in the big city.  Kansas City, Missouri, Dallas, Texas, and Minneapolis and in pretty bad areas where I was scared and pretty vulnerable.  Somehow, being lost in McCurtain county OK has risen to the top of the list.

And I have learned that an i-phone without service is about as good as a car without wheels.