Asterisks

Generally speaking, a good GPS combined with a dash of common sense can get you around just fine. However in some situations, a GPS is useless. This morning the GPS's metallic female voice directed me to "turn...left...at...Galen Street." Fine. Except that intersection confronting me was a point at which six streets joined...none at anything resembling a 90 degree angle. The intersection looked something like a deranged asterisk. (Which reminds me of the drawing from Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions)...But I digress...I was on a street with three lanes. The left lane was designated left turn only. The middle lane was only straight, and the right lane was designated right turn only.

Now if I'd driven straight ahead, I would literally drive between two streets...right up the middle of a vee. And left turn only? Did that mean the more acute left turn or the gentler left? Or the hardest left that was really more like a u-turn? Should I be in the left lane? The middle? You see my conundrum. And my helpful GPS friend was curiously silent. Of course, I immediately started over thinking. I did survive that intersection, but really. Massachusetts should consider more informative signage, perhaps with some illustrations...like in Vonnegut's book.