Geographically-Challenged

Geographically-Challenged

Dave and I were planning a three-day trip to Maine. Dave ran into and old buddy and revealed our plans. The old buddy asked: "When are you going?" Dave replied: "July." This is the response:

"It's cold there! That's near Alaska."

Now, if you were to ask me to fill in an empty map with the names of every country in the former Soviet Union, I may not score perfectly. Too many k's and z's. However, I do know my 50 states and could probably name all the capital cities. If you are lucky, maybe even the state flower. Yes. I learned that at Tobyhanna Elementary Center when I was in 4th grade.

And, I am generally familiar with world geography. If I can't pinpoint it on the globe exactly, I can at least place the country in the proper hemisphere, which is more than I can say for some people. How the hell does one graduate high school and not know where Alaska is?

First of all, we always hear about the 48 continental states. This means that two other states aren't connected to any others. Second of all, if people were to learn about Alaskan history they'd know that the first settlers came across the Bering Strait, which of course is now a sea. Also, Alaska was once a Russian colony. If Alaska was near Maine, it would be closer to Europe than Alaska and would be bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, not the Bering Sea.

I am utterly embarrased for this man. I mean, he could have had an off day. He could have smoked a lot of weed in high school and forgot. I don't want to call him an idiot, but perhaps the school system just failed him.

Oh yeah. Maine.
We decided that an 9-10 hour drive for a three-day trip isn't worth it. So, I am going to cancel the reservations at the cute little cottage in Bah Hahbor. I mean Bar Harbor.