We country folks don’t seem to have much trouble in locating our country destinations but for our urban guests, they often have problems. I understand why. The urban travelers are used to street signs and house numbers. It wasn’t until a few years ago the rural counties began naming rural roads. In order to receive rural mail delivery, each mail box has to be numbered. The numbers are not placed on the residence but on the mail box. When you are telling someone where you live, you tell them what style your house is, the color it’s painted, and on which side of the road it is on.
Some say we need a Rural GPS system that tells where the destination is located “Country Style.” “Recently it was shared on a social media what country units of measurements are; if a person is hearing someone explain where the Travis farmstead is from the Knox farmstead, they may hear “oh it’s just next door,” which means about one to two minutes away. If someone says it’s just “right up the road,” that means it’s only five to ten minutes away. Telling someone it’s only a “couple of miles away” means it’s about 10 to 20 miles away.When someone says it’s “not too far,” it means it’s 20 to 50 miles away. If they say, “Oh, it’s just a little ways away,” it could mean it may take more than an hour to reach the destination. A “pretty good ways” could mean it may be a two hour or more drive.
We country folks have to remember when giving traveling directions to urban folks to use words they understand. You may be telling them to go a couple of miles north until you come to a “Quonset.”Then turn and go towards the “alfalfa field”... That’s assuming they know exactly what a Quonset is and what alfalfa looks like. They also need to know what it means when they are told the destination is “just over yonder.”
Someone coming to the area trying to find a country cemetery while doing family research may lose their way. They may stop and ask a person they see out in the farm yard for directions. When they are told what the name of the cemetery is, the country person shakes his head and assures the person they can give directions. “Well, you are almost there. You just keep going past the farmstead up ahead on the left. Then take a right on the next dirt road. Go a ways further until you see a combine sitting in a wheat field. Turn west and go until you come to a fork in the road. Take a right on the old Cottonwood Road. You’ll see an abandoned church building. Go down the driveway, unless it’s too weedy. You’ll have to walk in and the cemetery is right behind the church. You might have to watch for the old well pit. There are also a few snakes out and about.” Do you think the traveler will decide to continue on the route following the given directions, or will they will turn around?
We take these country directions for granted. We know where we are going in our familiar local area but many don’t.
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