Browsing Through A Relic...

The other day I came across an amazing book. It's a road atlas from Rand McNally, and I haven't looked at a printed map in years.

Back in the day (I'm wearing my "old man of experience" hat right now...), convenience stores carried many of the necessities we all need from time to time. I'd imagine many of the things the stores used to carry still carry, like windshield washer fluid, batteries, and Slim Jims.

But, they also had maps.

When you were on a road trip, you'd better know where you were going because if you don't, you needed help. Convenience stores had maps of the surrounding areas. I don't remember them being too expensive. Hopefully, you had a co-pilot who could read the maps so the driver could pay attention to the road. Just opening that big atlas brought back those memories. Of course, the atlas has advantages and disadvantages over maps. They're bigger and heavier--they won't fit in a glove box, but also you don't have to fold an atlas to put it away (there was an art to that as well...).

We rely so much on our phones now. I haven't traveled too much out of my immediate area, but I've used GPS over and over again--even my small town has grown where I don't know many of the new streets. 

The atlas proclaimed proudly, "Travel 2000 and Beyond!" I don't think anyone at Rand McNally (or, anyone else, for that matter...) had any idea what the next century would bring, the least of which, that no one would be using atlases in just a few short years.