Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Travels with Marjory

"Look for the tower," I told myself, but the tower was shrouded in fog and so was I, wandering around the University of Florida campus looking for the library that was so easy to find yesterday. Where is Marjory when I need her?

Marjory is the name my old friend and I gave to her gps-equipped smart phone, which guided us around south Florida last week with exquisite patience even when we bluntly refused to follow her guidance. She kept telling us to make a U-turn, but we generally had other ideas. I don't remember exactly how we decided to name her Marjory, but it had something to do with our quest to explore parts of Florida that Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings might call "not pretty but beautiful" and something to do with Marjory's serendipitously sending us down Marjory Stoneman Douglas Boulevard, which took us to some beautiful places. By the end of our travels together, Marjory felt right.

But my old friend is back at work this week, so I'm finding my way around northern Florida without her help. When I finally glimpse the UF clock tower rising from the fog to guide my way to the library, my inner Marjory tells me, "Make a U-turn"--and for once, I obey.

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