#writephoto — The Paths Not Followed

Fandango

33C00427-6911-4430-888F-CD3E06EEBC41Benny set his heavy backpack down on the ground in front of the signpost and looked at the direction indicators. Whatever words had been either carved into or painted onto the wood pointers had long since worn away. Benny scratched his head and said aloud, “Here we go again.”

How many times in his life had Benny come to a crossroads and found himself having to choose which road to take? He always had the feeling that, no matter which way he chose to go, the paths not followed would have been the better choices. Benny remembered thinking how nice it would be if he had the ability to see where the other choices would have ended up taking him in advance of having to choose, but he knew that that was simply not possible. We make our choices and then, for better or worse, we live with them.

He figured that he still had a few hours of daylight before he’d have to find a place to pitch his small tent for the night. He looked at the signpost once again, still unsure of which way to go. Benny moved next to the signpost, pointed toward the direction pointers with the index finger on his right hand and said, “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe….”

F84B23BA-0A15-484B-B04F-4E2898BA63E9Written for this week’s Thursday Photo Prompt from Sue Vincent.

27 thoughts on “#writephoto — The Paths Not Followed”

  1. Marleen April 11, 2019 / 5:43 pm

    How many times in his life had Benny come to a crossroads and find himself having to …

    Alright, you asked for it: … come to a crossroads and found …

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  4. Sue Vincent April 11, 2019 / 11:29 pm

    I wonder, even if with hindsight we can ever know which was the right path to have taken?

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    • Fandango April 12, 2019 / 7:14 am

      Probably not. Only regrets about what might have been.

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  5. Sadje April 12, 2019 / 1:11 am

    That seemed like a sensible method of choosing! 🤓

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  6. leigha66 April 12, 2019 / 9:06 am

    If we don’t know what’s ahead it is all a guessing game. Good write!

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  7. Laura April 12, 2019 / 6:48 pm

    This seems like a perfectly reasonable choice for decision making…

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  8. Pingback: The Paths Not Followed ~ Fandango #writephoto | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo
  10. Steve Boseley April 15, 2019 / 12:07 pm

    I sometimes wonder if the choices not taken are played out in some alternate reality. Or is that just me…?

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  11. Bobby Fairfield April 15, 2019 / 1:34 pm

    A method to which we have all had to revert at some point in our lives but hindsight still leaves us blind and wondering.

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  12. memadtwo April 15, 2019 / 7:41 pm

    I’ve used that method (or a coin flip) on many an occasion myself! (K)

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  13. Marilyn Armstrong April 15, 2019 / 9:03 pm

    It’s like picking the right traffic lane or the best lane in the supermarket. The other lane ALWAYS moves faster. It’s a Murphy’s Law.

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  14. Michele Jones April 16, 2019 / 11:52 am

    I think we all feel that way. I like to think each path will take us to the same place, some just are more direct.

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  15. Pingback: Photo prompt round-up: Decisions #writephoto | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

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