Y’know… It’s kinda embarrassing to have a son (even a magnificently grown one) who’s a lot smarter than you are. Eeps!
The other day, my son purloined my car out of my garage. He refuses to bring it back. So here I am: carless in Gaza, having to do errands on foot and hire an Uber driver for more involved appointments. I thought the car-grabbing maneuver was just a moment of nastiness, or else the kid was trying to pull some sort of demented power play.
Uhmmm…. Not too swift on the uptake, am I??? :-
In fact, what he has been doing is demonstrating that he’s about 50 times smarter than his agèd muther!
Here’s what has happened since we took that car out of my garage:
* Not a dime has been diddled away on gasoline, car servicing, or anything else of a vehicular nature.
* The guy who lives catty-corner across the street revealed himself as an Uber driver.
> No kidding!!!! He uses his personal car as a taxicab…and he lives all of 30 seconds away.
> Took a ride with him: He appears to be a good, safe driver, and the inside of his chariot is spotlessly clean.
* I have not tried to kill a single one of my Fellow Homicidal Drivers.
* I did NOT, as had been planned, schlep the tank to the Ford dealer for updated maintenance work. $$$
* With the car locked up my son’s house, I’ve no concern about the passing burglars visiting my garage.
* The garage has been incredibly easy to keep clean (who knew???)
* Walking to the Albertson’s, Sprouts, or El Rancho provides a highly satisfactory amount of mild exercise.
Who knew, indeed? In a highly urban environment, the benefits of going car-free outweigh the benefits of owning a car.
That’s assuming you don’t use your car for regular commuting and you don’t have to drive to any destination every day.
Y’know what? I’m thinking we should get rid of that car altogether. Sell it and bank the money. Then I get M’jito or the Uber dude to drive me to the (relatively few) destinations I need to go to these days.
Whaddaya think? Am I crazy?
Sounds good to me! I’m glad it’s working out for you.
Can’t say that living in an L.A.-style city like Phoenix without a car is “working out.” It’s extremely inconvenient and poses some risks, not the least of which is being unable to get to an ER if you need to be seen by a doc RIGHT NOW.
It also makes it impossible for me to visit friends or professionals located in Sun City, Maryvale, Moon Valley, Sunnyslope, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa…all of these and more are suburbs that merge directly into Phoenix. It’s a METROPOLITAN AREA, not set of distinct towns & cities. So yes: you NEED a car. This little stunt of my son’s is more than inconvenience: it’s bullying.