Lost in Yonkers

Have you gotten lost before? How did you feel? Did you experience confusion?

‘Lost in Yonkers’ is the title of a 1991 play by famous American playwright, Neil Simon.

I have gotten lost on many occasions, especially on vacation. Just this week, I travelled alone in the city of New York. I visited my friends over several localities in NYC, mainly at Union Square, Bleecher Street, and 57^th Street. In some cases, I walked the straight line. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In others, I took the subway. Admittedly, there were times where I felt a little lost since I dismissed the use of a tourist map. I decided to rely on my memory, and my local knowledge of main roads (streets and avenues) in this superb metropolis in the East Coast.

The subway is a labyrinth of serpentine routes that traces the viscera of the city. If you take the train on the wrong platform, you will need to backtrack. Like all train systems, knowing its end-point is vital to your orientation and direction. Sometimes, it pays to ask the locals if you are correct. And, you will need to intuitively ask yourself if you trust their directions. Have you directed a tourist to the wrong direction?

Travel is a great way to engage your leadership. You learn to be both independent and independent. How do you stay calm in the face of your confusion? How long can you stay lost? What do you do if you think you are lost? Stay still? Ask for directions? It has been said: It is better to ask for directions once, then not to ask and be lost forever.

When were you last lost?