I found it...after all these years

Once a long time ago when I was still in school my mother realized that our education in geography was sorely amiss.  We might have been playing Trivial Pursuit when she discovered this and a discussion was had about what we had learned about our world and locations.  I honestly could not tell her where countries were located outside of North America.  She was horrified.

Connie:  “You are kidding.  You… What have you been learning?”

Me:  “Not geography Mom.  I’ve never had a geography class.”

Connie:  (her face red)  “Aren’t you curious?  What in the world do you think of when you talk about countries in history?”

Me:  “What do you mean?”

Connie (her face getting more red):  “What do you see?  (taps her head with her finger)  What comes to your mind when you hear about Ethiopia?  What do you see in your head if you don’t know what the country looks like?”

Me:  “I see the word “Ethiopia” in giant letters across my brain.”

I’m not sure she has ever recovered from that conversation and that is probably part of the reason why she pays for my children’s private education in a Montessori based school.  They both were learning about and completing maps of the world at age three.  But the other day I was behind this vehicle:

And I thought, "Well, I'll be damned.  There is Ethiopia."  I couldn't wait to tell my mother.