Giving Thanks, the Thirteenth

If you've ever tried getting around in areas you're not familiar with, maps have perhaps been your friend.  Back in the day, you had a paper map - one that never quite folded back the way it was supposed to - that showed main roads, some towns, and not much else.  If you wanted to know where a certain store or restaurant was when you were traveling, you had to ask someone along the way and hope they knew, or find a local phone book to look it up.

Today, going to unfamiliar areas is easy.  You can google the address, find out what's close by, get directions (with multiple routes) to get there, all with the strike of a few keys.  You can get information as close in as you want, or get a bigger picture by panning out.

I've driven by myself halfway across the country, and up into Canada, by myself, with nobody to read a map and tell me which way to turn.  And I've traveled to unfamiliar areas of the Chicago area without fear of getting hopelessly lost.  I am thankful for the access we have today to online map programs.  They help us navigate, help us find our way, help us connect.