Sextants, Compasses, Maps, And Gpses, Oh My! Poem by Joe Rosochacki

John Rhoads,65, and his wife, Starry Bush-Rhoads,67,
-were on the wrong roads.
The GPS had taken them down a wrong unbeaten path.
Which caused John and Starry to have a great wrath.
Before mankind was to link up to satellites that orbited the globe,
There was sextants to follow stars, compasses to tell you what way is north,
Maps that put the world in seconds, minutes, and degrees and so forth.
The errant GPS device almost landed them dead.
The Klamath County Sheriff, Tim Evinger, .... was quoted saying 'GPS almost did 'em in and GPS saved 'em.' Evinger said.
Simplify your route, eateries and motels-all the gadgets one would muster and tout.
'It will give you options to pick the shortest route.
You certainly get the shortest route. But it may not be a safe route.'
Somewhere in the snow covered valleys a weak,
When it all seemed bleak.
-after three days a weak cell signal was sent to 911.
To alert someone, that someone was in distress,
Did the Rhoads get into a wintry, slushy, and snowy mess?
But putting blind faith into a computerized 'thingamajig' is beyond my imagination.
So GPSes had led people into a variety of circumstances-
--including a British woman who drove her Mercedes into a river,
--a Swiss trucker drove down a pedestrian walkway,
- a New Yorker's car hit by a train after cruising onto the tracks,
--and two truckers who found themselves wedged in tight spots in two separate locations.
Not to mention to the fellow, Mr. Jones, who followed his GPS to the 'tee'.
And consequently, found himself, stuck on a narrow road that was down alongside a cliff,
Precariously.
After which he found guilty of 'driving without due care and attention.'
So, the Rhoads have been saved, my mother-in-law keeps on asking,
'How does she know where we are at? '
The petite feminine voice that comes out of the GARMIN which my wife, Judy, gave to her parents.
But there is threat that lingers, not about Dec.21,2012, or polar reversal,
The threat is mankind to itself, believing in something that's not quite real.

12-31-09
This completes 2009.