{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Adventures with Lola, the GPS &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"dM00rJfhWF\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/adventures-with-lola-the-gps\/\">Adventures with Lola, the GPS<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/adventures-with-lola-the-gps\/embed\/#?secret=dM00rJfhWF\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Adventures with Lola, the GPS&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"dM00rJfhWF\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/JenniferPerkins.jpg","thumbnail_width":220,"thumbnail_height":220,"description":"Anyone who knows me, knows I am directionally challenged. My family jokes that my sister got all of the navigational genes in the family. So much so, that we joke that she is Sacagawea and I am Lewis and Clark.\u00a0 My lack of navigational skills is the reason I hate driving.\u00a0 I am always the person who recommends carpooling because I will get lost if I am left to my own devices. Because my devices are so terrible, my dad purchased me a GPS navigation system for my birthday last month.\u00a0 While I often use it for navigating to interviews and local places (because I really am that bad at directions), my first time using it for a long haul was this past weekend when I went to visit my sister in St. Louis.\u00a0 My sister is a travel nurse who is currently on placement there. Her birthday was last Friday, so I travelled to Missouri to help her celebrate.\u00a0 My GPS, affectionately named Lola, after the navigation system from the movie \u201cRV,\u201d safely got me to St. Louis.\u00a0 In fact, Lola was pretty spot on helping me navigate the city to pick up my sister\u2019s cake. When you are following Lola\u2019s directions the voice sounds happy like \u2018We are going on an adventure!\u2019, but if you miss one turn, she turns into Madea.\u00a0 While travelling back to my sister\u2019s apartment from retrieving the cake, I encountered a road block because of construction. Traffic went down to one lane and became a one-way street. Lola told me to \u201cTake the next right\u201d, but the orange cones in the way said \u201cNot today!\u201d I passed the \u201cnext right\u201d and hoped that Lola would recalculate fast enough to help me find a detour to the apartment.\u00a0 After several minutes of the silent treatment, Lola decided to talk to me again.\u00a0 I know that GPS systems are electronic voices, but I could have sworn Madea had taken control. Lola\u2019s tone shifted from \u2018We are going on an adventure\u2019 to \u2018Listen, heifer. I gave you instructions that you elected to ignore, so now we are going to do this the hard way.\u2019\u00a0 Being directionally challenged meant I was left to Lola\u2019s mercy. She did eventually get me back to the apartment, but it took much longer than I had originally anticipated.\u00a0 The next time I got into the truck, Lola seemed to have moved on, that was until I missed another turn.\u00a0 The reason I tell you the silly story about my adventures with Lola is to segue into a conversation about COVID-19.\u00a0 Travelling was and still is one of my favorite pastimes. Having been lucky enough to travel to just under a dozen countries, most states east of the Mississippi and a few to the west, I have spent my fair share of time gallivanting across the world, as my sister would say.\u00a0 COVID-19 has essentially ended the days of carefree travel.\u00a0 To go see my sister took weeks of travel preparations. We made reservations for the three activities we did \u2013 one of which was eating at a restaurant. Having been there for several months, she made reservations during the \u2018off hours\u2019 so that we could avoid large crowds and effectively social distance.\u00a0 We wore our masks everywhere we went, both inside and outdoors.\u00a0 While my sister and I went out of our way to take the extra precautions relating to the virus, many of the people we encountered or saw did not take the simple precaution of wearing a mask.\u00a0 I would like to say that those who did not take precautions were limited to people in St. Louis, but the truth is they are everywhere. From Whitley County to St. Louis, I encountered people who did not follow simple recommendations to avoid spreading the virus.\u00a0 Is wearing a mask uncomfortable? Yes. Does it take a bit more work to social distance? Yes.\u00a0 Are doing these things potentially going to lower the number of COVID cases? Yes.\u00a0 I am trying to do my part to stop the spread of COVID by wearing a mask and social distancing. Will you join me?"}