In this day and age when people tote GPS units and Google has its Street View, there is one simple question regarding these four maps of China:

Why do I still carry them in – out of all places – my laptop computer bag?

I can get wireless Internet connection on my laptop and log on to mapping services from Google, Yahoo and MapQuest. And people are accustomed to the automated voices from GPS devices: “Turn left in 100 yards.”

The answers: Back in 1994, I pedaled my Bridgestone mountain bike on a solo trip for 1,200 miles in China. I didn’t have a cell phone. I couldn’t speak Mandarin.

These Nelles Verlag maps, a compass and dozens of strangers guided me to the right places. I also studied the sun hovering in the sky to make sure I pedaled in the right direction – south.

I’ve misplaced my compass. I want to safeguard these maps. There is another reason why I want these maps nearby.

I like this photograph of this codger.

As in: Wispy facial hair, slightly-crooked blue hat and heavy-duty, wire-rimmed glasses that wrap around his head and don’t sit on his ears.

Outdated dental headgear? No.

Something to help someone see more clearly. But I wonder if the metal brackets blocked any part of his vision.

If Shanghai Tang sold these glasses, imagine how much money you’d pay.

You would be ultra-stylish, though, at a chic party. If people asked, you could tell them: “I’m an artist” or “I’m a writer.” 

This man might not think of himself as a codger. There’s a good chance that if he saw me, he’d think my clothing was offbeat.

This guy is the real thing.

When the photographer lifted the camera to take this picture, this man could have turned away or put his hand up. Instead, he looked straight.

I realize many urban Chinese residents will say that this image does not represent everyone in China – that the country has changed in style.

That’s true.

But China’s population remains so large that I’m sure that it’s relatively easy to find peasants who still are living in similar ways. They just might not have these glasses.

Meeting genuine people is one of the greatest joys in life.

They do what they want because they like doing it and it doesn’t really hurt anyone else.

It’s similar to going to a formal party and noticing that an older relative is wearing black tennis shoes with a dark suit.

Of course, you could walk up and say: “You know, I don’t think a Nordstrom sales associate would recommend that.”

The relative would likely respond: “But I’m comfortable.”

When I was pedaling my bike in China years ago, I traveled through Henan province and its dry, rolling hills.

The sun was shining. I looked to my side and spotted an opening, a cave in the side of a cliff.

Then, at the entrance and in the shade, I saw two feet sticking out. A person was resting on a cot or bed inside.

On this map, it was somewhere near Jiyuan, which is north of Luoyang.

Before I forget, I bought these maps - each one cost $8.95 – from Rand McNally’s The Map & Travel Store in Washington, D.C. That was 15 years ago.

I believe this is the store. And I’ve never dropped these maps and had them shatter before me.

I find there are times when I talk about the past in my posts.

What I’m learning is that life can get busy and as I get older, it is easy to forget what I thought I could recall at a moment’s notice.

So, in many ways, these posts are a good thing.