A Day With My Car

I drove my car for the first time in over a month and multiple people have asked me to share about my return to the open road. I used my car to take Kaytlin to work while the mechanic worked on her car and that trip prevented me from catching the bus to work myself. Riding the bus from Kaytlin’s work to Ruby Tuesday takes over two hours and I did not have that much time before my shift. In retrospect, I suppose that feasible options existed to avoid having taken my car to work yesterday morning, but they escaped me in the moment and the my return to the driver’s seat offered interesting insight into my “carless” experience.
The most impactful moment of the drive to work own occurred when I passed by my house. About halfway between Starbucks and Ruby Tuesday I turned onto Elmwood Street and could see my house from the road. Seeing my house offered a reference point for my travels and I felt shocked that I had completed a ten-minute drive. That same trip would have taken over an hour by foot or 30 minutes on the bus. In some strange way, I felt as if I had missed the city speeding through it. I had driven into the heart of the city but somehow missed experiencing the it. My car insulated me from the world outside and although I saved 20 minutes by driving my car instead of taking the bus, those minutes lacked the richness of alternative travel.
Life without a car inhibits much efficiency that my American lifestyle desires, but I think that efficiency may inhibit my life experiences. I engage the world more fully when I have to stand in the rain, or snow, or sun, and endure the heat, or the cold. Living without a car takes community and providential, or at least strategic, living arrangements, but I relish the struggle that comes with making my life work without using personal transportation. I spend more time with my roommates and fiancé because we walk to McDonald’s or ride our bikes to the library instead of zipping straight there in our cars. I hope that using my car over the next few days instills gratefulness in my heart for the many similar conveniences in my life. None-the-less, I look forward to living as a pedestrian again sooner than later.