Never underestimate the importance of the tiny grocery in your building. For this is the landmark which everyone within hailing distance is familiar with. Well, mostly. The tiny shop located on the ground floor of my place of residence is one I visit infrequently much to the chagrin of the owner who never misses an opportunity to chastise me for not doing business with him.
His eagle eye has noticed the empty water carton outside my door which he knows has not come from his shop. So, the next time I run into him, he asks me why I don't buy my water from him since he stocks the same brand. Nonplussed by his skills as a detective which would have done Sherlock Holmes proud, I counter with a weak "How did you know that I use or bought that brand?" And I am told in no uncertain terms that he saw the proof with his very own eyes when he happened to pass by my flat.
Feeling a sense of guilt, I assure him that from henceforth my water supplies will be bought from nowhere else but his shop. Even as I make this rash promise I think of the tiny cluttered area where one has to step over several large cartons and brush past innumerable containers haphazardly arranged on the floor. There are brands whose name I have never heard and which I hesitate to patronise.
But respect for the significance of this hole in the wall has been drilled into me after several attempts to make use of free home delivery services. When asked the location of my building, I invariably fumble and start stuttering and stammering as it isn't the easiest place to describe.
Due to the absence of street names and numbers in most places here, buildings are identified via the nearest landmark. One of these is the ubiquitous grocery which serves as a pointer in the right direction and a reassurance that one is indeed in the right vicinity.
So, when you have a first-time visitor, it is not uncommon for the person to ask for step by step directions to his destination. Thus, one guides one's 'guest' through the labyrinth of lanes and past the myriad buildings that dot the landscape. When this meets with failure one suddenly remembers the grocery which is one place people who are stopped on the street for directions will be aware of. Of course one presumes that the person seeking an address is not averse to asking for guidance. Most of the human male species would rather get lost and drive round in circles rather than demean themselves by having to ask for help.
Logical
Often one finds oneself assuming that the person will take the route that seems the most logical by your reckoning. But herein lies the danger. Never assume so for what seems logical to you might be another's source of confusion. So, the seeker will approach your house from the least likely direction and further confuse you by telling you that he has just passed a green building and if he is on the right track. This observation has you scratching your head as you haven't the faintest idea of any building of that colour. In fact, you aren't even sure of the colour of your building.
So, to make your task easier the next time round, take a walk or drive past your house and memorise all the names of likely shops, neon signs or street numbers, if available, to ensure that you come up with the right answers when you have to take the quiz.
Sometimes the searcher might find himself in the very grocery you have named as a landmark but completely unaware that he has hit the target. You can't really blame him as the name is difficult to decipher when certain crucial alphabets have somehow dropped off and this isn't exactly the time to play 'Fill in the Gaps'.
If all these methods of location fail, there is always the personal escort service. That is when, in exasperation, you say, "Stay right where you are. I'll come and get you".
