I’m driving through the little town of Gettysburg. I’ve been on this road before, and I know my favorite little shop is coming up on the right. The man who sells Civil War artifacts and books has a sign that says, “By appointment and by chance.”
I just love what the sign represents: it’s a slow, peaceful, relaxed kind of business, in stark contrast to the way I’ve been living my life lately. I imagine an old man shrugging his shoulders–and probably smoking a pipe–as he tells customers that he’s not really sure when he’ll be around next. “You’ll just have to chance it.”
Then, in a restaurant by General Lee’s headquarters, I stop to use the restroom. But it’s not called a restroom. It’s a Necessary Room for Ladies. I’ve never heard it put quite like that before.
What belongs in the Necessary Room? I’m chuckling and trying to imagine what I’d put there. I think I’m getting the message that it’s OK to slow down, relax a bit, and stop thinking so much about unnecessary things.