Can you tell me how to get to ...

"Excuse me, sir. Are you from around here?"

I had just paid for some gas at Old Post General Store when the young man (I say young because he was obviously younger than I, but by how much I have not a clue) approached me.

"Well, yes. Yes I am."

"Can you tell me how to get to Jesse Boyd Elementary School?"

He must have been able to read my mind — I was thinking "Man you're nowhere near it!" — because before I could say anything, he said dejectedly, "You can't get there from here, can you?"

Sensing his dismay, I tried to be encouraging, "Sure you can, but it'll take about 30 minutes. When are you supposed to be there?"

I can remember when I reacted with disdain to those who asked for directions. I was always in too much of a hurry to offer detailed help but when left with no choice, would give the briefest of instructions and then leave the lost ones to fend for themselves.

Now, I look at it as a challenge and the opportunity to help strangers. Perhaps that's because I've had to rely so often on that same kind of help. It's not that I'm getting lost more than I used to, it's that I'm not as stubborn as I used to be about asking for directions.

I knew his destination was in Spartanburg, but wasn't sure just WHERE in Spartanburg.

"Hold on a second," I told him and called my wife, who grew up in Spartanburg.

She knew the location of Jesse Boyd.

"It's on Fernwood-Glendale, the road that runs behind Hillcrest Mall."

Before I could tell her that's all I needed to know, she began to give me directions on how to get there from Old Post.

"That's OK, baby, I know how to get there."

But she continued, giving me about four different options. She LOVES to tell me how to get around in the big city. Those Spartanburg people think they're so much smarter than us hicks from Gaffney, don't they?

"Ok. I've got it." I said over and over.

Finally, I was able to end the call and proceeded to tell my newfound lost friend from Greensboro (didn't get his name) how to get to the school.

Knowing how often I've gotten directions and then forgotten some pertinent detail as soon as I went 'through the first light,' I went over it three times and made 'Lost Greensboro Man' repeat the directions.

I don't know if he made it to the school on time and I don't even know what he was going there for, but I felt good about trying to help. I do know he made it back to I-85 and headed out in the right direction. He followed me to town and I waved 'Good Luck' to him as he drove onto the Spartanburg-bound on-ramp.

How would you tell someone to get to Hillcrest Mall from Old Post? I'll bet if I asked 10 people, I'd get 10 different answers.

To test that premise, I asked several of my coworkers and got various responses,

Some of the better ones were:

"Go back to 85, got to Spartanburg and ask somebody there." — Moose

"Go back to 85, go southbound to I-26 East and get off at the Mall exit." — Klonie (he thought I said Westgate Mall.)

"Go back through Gaffney to Hwy. 29. Turn right, go all the way to Hillcrest Mall on your left." — Robert

There were several other variations, but you get the picture. The one thing everyone agreed on was that they would go a different way from how they'd tell someone to go: "My way would be too confusing and I don't know all the road numbers."

Just to satisfy your curiosity, this is what I told 'Lost Greensboro Man': "Go back down Hwy. 11 to I-85. Get on 85 south towards Spartanburg and take the Hwy. 110/Cowpens exit, the third exit after you get on 85. Go left over 85 to Cowpens. Turn right on Hwy 29. Go about 8 miles and just before Hillcrest Mall turn left at the Chick-fil-a. Drive around behind the mall and turn left onto Fernwood- Glendale, Jesse Boyd will be on your right after a mile or so."

What I forgot to ask "Lost Greensboro Man' is how in the heck he ended up at Old Post?

This experience has served to remind me that there are various ways to achieve a common goal and none of the routes are necessarily better than the others, just different.

Cody Sossamon (cody@gaffneyledger.com) is publisher of The Gaffney Ledger.