All In a Name

Yesterday when I was driving to the airport, my little sister called me.

"Did you pick Ron up already?" she asked after I thought I had already told her I was driving TO the airport."

"No," I answered, a bit confused.

"Well, whose voice is that?"

"Oh, it's the GPS. It talks to me to help me navigate more proficiently, or at least that is the theory," I stated as I remembered that not everyone has a male voice programmed into their GPS.

Thus, I back up. I love to hate my GPS. Admittedly, like so many of the population that utilizes the gadget, on occasion I have been know to talk back to it. "What? Why didn't you say so earlier? Hello? Oh, that is where you wanted me to go??" Of course the inflection of the voice is paramount here--generally dripping with sarcasm.

Anyway, we were having this conversation over Christmas with my cousin, Greg. We were laughing about our GPS stories when he revealed his name for his device, B@%$in' Betty. Clever, I have to admit; however, as a female, I decided that was unfair, as men are not better navigators; however, the female default voice does lend itself well to the name. Then Greg informed me I could change the voice. With a little help, my GPS tried out several voices. By the way, the list is extensive with multiple language opportunities. The Australian man was entertaining (I still like to comprehend the language), but I eventually settled on "Jack," as he was labelled.

I have never officially used "Jack's" name in my communication with the device, and if I were, I suspect I would want to find a new name. Actually, it probably is time to find a suitable name before my trek across the United States. This is officially a plea for you to help me out here...G rated, of course.

In the end, the male voice has stayed for me to question the logic of his directions. It works well for me.

As an aside, my darling little sister who makes every navigation experience an adventure with her distracted style would put the poor GPS on overload...with the constant "recalculating...recalculating...recalculating..." I wonder if the language would even matter...

I love my family and the variety they bring to my life.