Look Ma, no car
Since I got my driver’s license at 16, I can count on fewer than five fingers the number of days I have been without an automotive vee-hickle at hand. Actually that’s not quiiiite true because my first couple years of college, I didn’t have one there. It was a pain in the you-know-what ass but those years have blurred a bit so I’m just gonna skip over them.
During the first year or so of covid, one of the beach urchins was driving one of our old cars and it could be pretty dern persnickety with 150-plus miles on it. So there were some times I lent her my Ninja while the Mean Green Frog Hoppin’ Musheen was in the shop. If the GG was outta town, that meant I had no car. It was okay. I was not out shopping a lot in those days and since she works a few blocks away, she would often park the Ninja in my driveway and voila, I had a car.
But I have basically always had my own car in my adult life and I made sure I married a guy who understood that I needed a car, like we have two adults in our household so we need two cars. There have been times when I have wished (and argued) for NEWER cars but (knock on wood) those wishes ebbed when we started buying Japanese cars. Long story short, blame my late General Motors automotive engineer’s advice for that switch.
Here at the moominbeach, I have not had a car all week. We’ve been trying to drive one car up here this summer since I am not telecommuting any more. I wasn’t a fan of the GG going down for a “rocket trip” that turned into 4-5 days. But I am doing pretty damn fine without a car. I know that I can ask the Neighbor Cousins at the Old Cabin to get stuff for me from the grocery store but I don’t need anything. In fact, last night I was asked by the sweet cousins in the generation down from me if I needed anything from town. No. I have food. I have bourbon (giggle). I am doing okay.
July 29th, 2026 at 8:12 pm
I can do fine without a car–however, I don’t like knowing that I don’t have one. What if x happens? I have a lively imagination.