One of the last memory stories my mother shared with me, about me, was an event from when I was 4-years-old. We were on our way from Augusta to Nashville. During our travel, I kept asking if we were on the railroad. My mother thought I was asking if we were on the railroad. She thought it was puzzling that I thought we were on a railroad while in the car. I guess blame the speech impediment I had when I was younger. Finally, my grandmother realized what I was saying. I wasn't asking if we were on the railroad, I was asking if we were on the red road. The atlas we had in the car at the time displayed Interstates as red lines. Once they confirmed we were on the red road, I seemed to calm down. I guess you can call that the birth of my geography love.

Ever since then, my mother relied on me as a navigator. When I was about 6 or 7-years-old, we were in Nashville, again. My mother was explaining how to get to our house to a friend that planned to visit us down in Augusta soon. My mother couldn't remember the exit number from the I-20. She asked me and I promptly replied "64A." My mother trusted my answer. When the friend finally came to Augusta, she did not get lost. She was surprised that I knew the correct exit at such an age.

When we moved to Ft. Bragg, my mother handed me the map. She wanted me to get us to our new home once we got off the Interstate. She was happy we didn't get lost.

It seems when I didn't go on trips with her, she got lost. She could read a map or drive, but not both. After getting lost in Virginia Beach with Beth once on a visit to my father in Williamsburg, Beth did not want to travel without me. Even on our last trip to Columbia together, I navigated while she drove. That's when she shared the Railroad story with me. It was always one of her favorite stories about me.

As for that speech impediment thing, she helped me with that, too. It seems prior to my adenoid surgery in 1986, I had trouble with the "sh" and "sm" digraphs. The word with one of those digraphs I had no trouble pronouncing was my name. She taught me how to say smile by saying "s--mile" and shrimp by "sh--rimp." I can say those words well today.

[♪ Listening to: "Light In Your Eyes" - Sheryl Crow]

Posted by Shawn at December 24, 2005 11:30 AM in Memories.