How do you know when it’s time to turn around?
Last week I was driving home from an unfamiliar location and the GPS led me down a suspiciously narrowing road.
“Hmmm.” I thought to myself. “This does not look right.”
But as I scanned the map, the road appeared to connect to a larger road, so I continued.
I was also tired and ready to get home. I did not feel like turning around and going back into the current of traffic I’d left behind.
So I kept going and hoped for the best.
The road narrowed to one lane—but this is not a problem in Lebanon where people know how to move and pause in ways that ensure that everyone gets to where they’re going.
I kept going and hoped the road would widen soon.
It did not.
Soon, I came to a short tunnel. Slowing down, I entered and with my eyes wide open for any car coming in the opposite direction. Half way through, one appeared and politely pulled to the side until I came through.
Another car on the road seemed promising—surely this would not be a dead end. I did not want to navigate turning around on such a narrow road. So I kept going.
The road became gravelly and I passed a garbage dump area. Then came the barking dogs and a large structure with old cars and a group of very tough looking men standing around.
“Definitely not turning around here,” I said to myself.
I hoped there would be a quieter place to turn around up ahead.
The road—which was more of a wide path by now—sloped up and I slowed down as my tires caught stones here and there and kicked them to the side. Ahead, I saw makings of a building from grey cement with an open entrance. Three young men with friendly faces stood at the top of a tilting block of stairs and observed me curiously.
Just beyond the “house”, the road veered left and ended in a green space where clusters of wild grass surrounded piles of rocks and cement rubble.
No other option but to turn around.
It was slow and awkward, but I managed it.
And for the next 10 minutes or so of retracing my tracks, I soaked in the novelty of the experience, laughing and wondering about how we know when it’s time to turn around.
Eventually we figure it out—it was nice to finally get home and rest.