POTD: Autumn In Mississippi
Pines in a Blue Autumn Sky – Osyka, Mississippi (population: 481) – Alex Autin
Mississippi Pipeline – Tylertown, Mississippi (population:1,910) – Alex Autin
October Wildflowers – Osyka, Mississippi – Alex Autin
A Dog Named Peyton (As in …Peyton Manning) – Osyka, Mississippi – Alex Autin
A Spider Named …umm, well… just ‘Spider’ – Tylertown, Mississippi – Alex Autin
Wild Sunflowers – Tylertown, Mississippi – Alex Autin
Sunset in the Pines – Osyka, Mississippi – Alex Autin
Peyton, once more! Osyka, Mississippi – Alex Autin
POTD – Ray Ray
Ray Ray the Cat, on a front porch in Tylertown, Mississippi – Alex Autin
POTD – Osyaka Windmill
The Aermotor – Osyaka, Mississippi, USA – Alex Autin
POTD – Mississipi Wildflower and Friend
Mississippi Wildflower and Friend – Alex Autin
Getting Lost
Country Road – Osyka, Mississippi – Alex Autin
I love…Getting Lost! And how do I know I love getting lost? Simply because I’m so amazingly good at it. I mean, I’m REALLY good at it. I can get lost anywhere. Being equipped with absolutely no sense of direction definitely helps in this endeavor. I love when people stop me to ask for directions. There’s nothing quite as wonderful as the look on their face as I tell them the location is four blocks north while I’m clearly pointing to the south.
My dear friend Pullo recently told me…. The key to becoming great at something is constant practice. The only way you’ll be able to succeed is if you love to practice what you want to be good at. Absolutely, and thank you Pullo! So I make every effort to practice getting lost because as good as I am, I want to be even better! I’m pretty certain I can somehow make a career of it.
The really great thing about successfully getting lost is that…well, that’s when the adventure truly begins! Last year I successfully got lost while exploring Magnetic Island, which is an amazing little island in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Not only did I get lost, I also managed to do so in a style which exemplifies my great skill in the art. I did accomplish finding the ferry to the island…and I did so in the dark! Once arriving at Nelly Bay, I managed to find the bus which would take me to the general vicinity of my destination on the island, which was an old World War II fort reputed as an excellent site for koala spotting. But somehow once the bus dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, I managed, rather quickly, to…umm… lose my bearings. (Please note the use of the navigational term ‘bearings’.) I don’t think I need to explain that getting lost on a ‘middle of nowhere’ island off the coast of Australia is completely different from getting lost in the ‘middle of nowhere’ downtown Cleveland. This is primarily because there are no death adders in downtown Cleveland. Here is an excerpt from my journal during that particular island excursion…..
“At some point, probably immediately after stepping off the bus, I’ve managed to get lost. Don’t panic! Getting lost is one of the things I do best. And actually, instead of saying I’m lost…because really, how lost can one be while on an island…I should say I’m ‘redefining my objective’. Apparently I’ve completely miss the trail to The Forts, and any chance whatsoever of koala spotting this morning. But as the Aussies say……no worries. The wonderful thing about getting lost, other than getting to stumble totally blindly upon cool things you have no idea exists, is you also get to return another day to carry out your original goal. In my book, this is called a win/win!”
The really remarkable thing about getting lost is that it can be done anywhere. One does not need an exotic island in the Coral Sea to practice it, though it does help to a large extent. My friend Oscar and I have been out to the Salt Lick Restaurant in Driftwood, Texas on two occasions, and both times we’ve gotten lost en route. Getting lost in the Texas Hill Country while seeking outstanding barbecue is quite simply one of life’s great pleasures. My friend promises next time we go, we won’t get lost. My very dear man….what would then be the point?
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