Daisy Loses Her Car
My puttery old turquoise Mazda is dead. The week that Aida is in North Carolina apprenticing with Corinna Wood and I’m supposed to mind both homesteads, the week I need to make an 8 mile round trip at least once a day and find fun things to do with a toddler and a teenager, the week it’s 99 degrees with humidity to match, my car finally gives up the ghost.
Uch. Fine.
The car thing is such a mixed bag of emotions and issues for me. I’ve never liked cars, to be honest. I enjoy the convenience of quick transportation, but cars are ugly, noisy, smelly and expensive to own and maintain. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wished I could just ride a horse everywhere I wanted to go.
I’ve never bought a new car. My first car was a 1974 Ford Maverick that was avocado green inside and out. Including tags, tax and insurance, it cost me about $800. I drove that car from Illinois to Georgia to Texas and all the states in between. I never got it serviced or changed the oil or anything. I just drove the crap out of it for two years until it died. Then I unceremoniously abandoned it in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Texas. Then I got a bike and tried that for a while.
I guess that’s my transportation pattern. I buy a crappy old car, drive it until it dies, then I get my bike out. After biking and sweating all over town for a year or two, I start dreaming about all that air conditioned, convenient transportation that a car brings. So I get another old, crappy car. And the cycle continues.
I don’t see the sense in having a new car. The payments, plus insurance and gas would cost more than my mortgage. I’m just not interested in spending that much of my budget on something that only costs more money and gets more worthless every day. And then there’s this massive oil leak happening in the Gulf…
So I’ll be back on the bike now with Little Boy in tow. At least for a while. I dread it because it’s been SO hot here (like, unseasonably hot, even for South Georgia), and there’s no sign of a break in the heat.
Alright, if I sit on the Pity Pot too long I’ll get ring around the butt. I’ve got to put on my big girl britches and do the right thing (even if it was forced upon me by my life’s circumstances – I hate it when my life makes me be a good person…). Riding my bike is the best thing for me, I REALLY need the exercise. It’s good for Little Boy, he needs to be outside, even if it’s sweltering. It’s good for my community, I get to see and talk to my neighbors more face to face. It’s good for my city, that’s one less car clogging the roads with traffic and the air with pollution. And it’s GREAT for my budget. Instead of giving my money to gas companies and the auto insurance industry, I can put it back into my own life (or Little Boy’s account!)
I may get the car fixed next week. Or I may sell it and never buy another car again. Who knows? For now, if you’re driving on the streets of Savannah, keep a lookout for bikes hauling toddlers. The life you save could be my Little Boy’s.
If you have any creative transportation ideas, leave them in the comments…
I do love my car, being a convertible and all…but love the fact I get to walk mostly everywhere I go here in the city…the oil spill is really having me contemplate what other things I can do to be less oil dependent…i travel by plane whenever I want to, but should I limit my travel? I walk a lot…a lot…to me, i would rather walk that last mile than to get on the subway…but still…thanks for provoking thought.
Public transportation is SOO much nicer in the big cities!! I was spoiled by the buses and El trains when I lived in Chicago. I never had a car when I lived there. Moving back to small town Savannah was a rude awakening! What do you mean there’s only one bus every hour? And no buses to the islands on Sunday? HOW MUCH for a cab to the beach? :O And I’m with you, I’d rather walk a few blocks.
what is the car doing besides not working( middle aged man coming out here, to fix all your problems) don’t say just sitting there, I mean is it turning over, just dead and won’t crank at all not shifting right, making a bad sound and most importantly does it have gas in it,( not a stupid question). Loved the title of this post, one of favorite Queen songs. Get an estimate on how much to fix the price cars in that range, too little to get a reliable car get it fixed, more than the cars worth get another car,if you can. If you sell a nonworking car the standard price is usually about five hundred dollars or less.
Try to find a shade tree mechanic, they work for less than the big shops, ask around and I’m sure someone will know one, also please let me know what the car is doing there are easy fixes for some things, that YOU!!, yes you can do yourself.
I have to keep six cars running at a time( me, wife and the four kids and yes I know I’m killing the environment, I’ve killed a lot worse things in my time, Hippie) so I’ve learned a few things and I never owed a brand new car myself either, could never afford it. Send your answer to my face book email
I think we all need to start thinking a bit more about using our legs rather than being lazy and taking the car. Not just for the enviroment but for our fitness and wellbeing too.
country girl here has to drive everywhere if I want to work or hit the old grocery store. perks of living in a city (which I miss sometimes) is the walking to where you want to go or like you…..ride the ol’bicycle. I miss the bike rides to the cafe and the fun shops.
I tell myself that one day when I live out in the country, I’ll just ride my horse wherever I want to go. Don’t burst my bubble… 😀
daisy, i was carless for 3 years until i met the love. now we have (don’t hate me) three vehicles… seriously. i used the excuse that we live in a rough neighborhood for a while, but after taking the dogs out for a walk today to give the bug guy some alone time, i realized how much i needed to walk. i had a bike for a while, but learned i got had by star bike (yep, beware, they seem friendly enough), and so i walked from avondale to savannah each and everyday that weather permitted. i loaded up my backback, made a list, and took off. and loved every minute of it. it’s a great time to scope out plant napping prospects, see cool houses you wouldn’t normally, find neat free stuff, and remarkably, and quite surprisingly, learn how to forgive. walking for two 45-minute stretches a day gives you a lot of ‘me’ time. but biking is even better, especially with the boy. we’re now selling two of the cars and pounding the pavement. nuff said.