The Man Who Drove by Feel

Many years ago, before a smartphone became a navigational tool, a man and his wife drove into an unfamiliar European city looking for their hotel. They knew the name of the hotel and its address, but not exactly where it was located. And they had no map.

“Should we ask someone?” his wife suggested.

“No need,” said the man. “I have a feeling it’s this way.”

It wasn’t.

At the next corner, he had a feeling that he should turn left. The city rewarded his confidence with a church, a fountain, and three winding streets with unpronounceable names containing far too many consonants.

“Perhaps we should stop and ask,” his wife said gently.

“We’re very close.”

He had no evidence to support this conclusion, but confidence, especially when unsupported by facts, can prove remarkably resilient.

They crossed a bridge, circled a monument, and passed the same bakery twice. The third time, the baker waved.

Still, the man drove on, trusting that eventually the hotel would magically appear.

His wife sat beside him, patient and amused, sharing the adventure even though neither of them knew where it was going.

After an hour, as his confidence began to flag and even his sense of direction seemed weary, he pulled alongside a taxi and showed the driver the name of the hotel.

The driver began giving directions involving several turns, another bridge, and a statue that might have been a king. Or was it a saint?

The man understood none of it.

But fortunately, at that point, wisdom replaced pride.

“Would you lead us there?” he asked the taxi driver.

The taxi driver shrugged, started his engine, and motioned for them to follow.

Eight minutes later they stopped in front of their hotel.

The man looked at his wife with an expression of triumph.

“I knew we’d find it,” he said.

She took his hand and smiled.

“We always do.”

The man paid the taxi driver, and the bellman carried in their luggage.

Asking for help had not diminished him. It had simply helped them arrive at their destination in time for dinner.

This story may or may not be entirely fictional. Or you might recall this experience as something that might (or might not) have happened to me and Daveen, once upon a very time long ago.

Moral: Asking for help can speed your journey.

Alan