I have a reputation in our family for finding what we call “long cuts.” Many people are familiar with the term “short cut.” It is a method or way of doing something more directly and more quickly than the usual way. Short cuts, when not referring to a path to travel, are often thought to be not as careful or thorough as the ordinary procedure. In our case, especially when going for a leisurely walk or drive, I have a tendency to take a route that takes longer than the usual path. I admit that I enjoy exploring. When driving to and from a particular destination, I enjoy finding different routes that lead to the same destination. When asked why I chose a particular route, I often make reference to something interesting that can be seen along the way.

A few years ago, I learned that I am not the only one who occasionally finds a “long cut.” I was visiting with the UPS driver who delivered packages to our church in Rapid City who was complaining, just a little, about the GPS software that his company uses. The software is designed to allow drivers to complete their duties quickly and safely. It arranges the order of package delivery according to an algorithm. Instead of relying on the geographical skills of the drivers, which is often very extensive, the company requires drivers to follow the routes specified by the software. One of the things the software does is to avoid left hand turns. There is considerable evidence that more accidents occur when vehicles are turning left than right. That way of choosing a route might make a lot of sense in certain urban areas. It might also save time in places where there are unprotected left turns. However, in small towns or rural areas, the result can be long unnecessary detours. I was fascinated by the driver’s explanation, and probably caused the remainder of his deliveries that day to be a bit late because of all of my questions about how it worked.

I, on the other hand, enjoy GPS in part because it will keep searching for new routes when I don’t follow its directions. If I pre-load a destination into our GPS at home, it will direct me to follow the larger, more well-traveled roads from our house to the Interstate highway. However, I prefer to drive a back road that makes a diagonal that results in less distance traveled. It probably isn’t quicker because the traffic moves faster on the road preferred by the GPS, but it is more interesting and I like to look at the houses and farms on the way. I also enjoy defying the directions the voice in the GPS gives. It makes me feel a bit rebellious as the machine recalculates a route and directs me to turn at several intersections before finally “giving up” and charting the route the way that I am going.

I doubt if I would be very good as a UPS driver.

I have a few friends who pay more attention to the doings of British royalty than I. They have reminded me that May 6 will be the coronation of King Charles III and Camilla as king and queen of England. They plan to watch the event on television. I will likely forget the date and I doubt that I will watch it because I don’t have a television. We can watch whatever we want on our computer and feel no need to have a television. I did read, however, that part of the ceremony will include a kind of royal procession or parade from the royal residence at Buckingham Palace to the coronation service at Westminster Abbey. It isn’t a very long distance. When we visited England we walked between the two places, wanting to see both as tourists and finding walking to be easier than negotiating London traffic. We aren’t practiced at driving on the left where right-hand turns are more dangerous than left-hand turns.

The distance is just over one and a quarter miles. I know that distance well. Susan and I take a daily walk, and when we shorten our walk due to inclement weather or a busy schedule, we often walk from our home to the beach and back, which is a distance just over one and a quarter miles. It takes a bit less than a half hour walking at our usual pace.

However, the royals won’t be walking. They will be riding in horse drawn carriages. Unlike the coronation of Queen Elizabeth which took a long cut along Piccadilly, Oxford Street and Regent Street, the May event will process directly along the Mall through Admiralty Arch, around Trafalgar Square and along Whitehall to Parliament Square. Queen Elizabeth’s long cut was 5 miles, stretched out to allow more people to crowd the streets to see the queen passing by. I guess Charles and Camilla aren’t expecting such large in person crowds, with more being able to watch on television.

However, the article detailing the plans also noted that the traditional Gold State Coach which was used by Queen Elizabeth to travel both ways for her coronation, will be used only for the return trip after the service at Westminster Abbey. Apparently, that coach makes for a bumpy and a bit uncomfortable ride. Charles and Camilla plan to arrive in comfort by traveling to the ceremony in a newer, more modern coach, the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which was built in 2014 and is equipped with a hydraulic suspension and air conditioning.

Presumably, the switch in coaches means that someone has to drive the extra coach empty to the event and return with the modern one also empty, unless there are some members of the royal staff who, like the royal couple, will be switching rides for the event.

I’m pretty sure that if offered, I wouldn’t mind riding in either coach just for the fun of it. I’m also certain that it won’t be offered just for the fun of it, so I’ll probably stick to walking. After all, unlike the royal family, I don’t own any horses.

Now if they’d let me drive, I’m sure I could find a route that covered more distance. It would also take more time. I prefer the long cut.