It was a lovely summer day when we left Great Barrington, Massachusetts early in the morning heading eastbound to Boston. “It’s going to be a breeze of a drive” said my friend, “it will take us about 2 hours to get there, so really, there’s no reason to feel rushed. Here, let’s stop here for coffee” Yes, surely, we could have been in Boston sometime in the early morning hours, but whoever calculated the distance did not take into account people who must wet their throat with fresh beverages several times an hour. But when we weren’t at a rest stop and did some actual driving, it was a smooth drive on interstate 90 and I was admiring the sights of Massachusetts’ wooded country side. In one of the small gift shops on our way I found a cute postcard of Bostonian sights and street signs titled “Lost in Boston”. My friend snorted loudly when I showed him the postcard. “Pew, Boston is too small for anyone to be lost there, let alone a man of the world as many nice people consider me to be” The sun was high in the sky when we finally witnessed the “Boston 1 mile” road sign. And as we were headed to begin our exciting Boston self-tour in Boston Common, my friend announced we need to take exit 21. Whoever that exit was, it was no where to be found. My friend made sure to look very carefully everywhere about the highway but to no avail; this mysterious exit vanished forever. I suggested maybe a quick look at the map would solve the mystery. My friend, on the other hand, was amazed to learn I really believed maps were anywhere near accurate and could lead us to our destination. Apparently I was too naïve to recognize these facts of life which were obvious to every experienced traveler. We ended up taking an emergency exit at number 25. After a quick look around it was clear we were in a deserted area outside town. After a few minutes of confusion and negotiation we were again on our way, ready and eager for the Boston experience. After 15 minutes driving I decided it best not to mention we must have taken the wrong turn as I noticed we had already passed that same street corner twice before.


photograph by Nitsa
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