It's the gas gauge. The needle leans closer to the "E" than it did a month ago. All this driving is, ghasp!, using up fuel.
"Committed" describes me pretty well. I've braved cold, ice and snow, all to avoid using the car, only to have best intentions usurped by a few appointments. So, the question evolves from "What can I withstand physically?", to "What can I do intentionally to avoid driving?"
Well, I could change our dental service-provider. Driving less builds relationships in some cases. Am I willing to say goodbye to established connections so that we can walk to the dentist? Classes I'm taking, meetings I'm scheduling, am I willing to work those around pedestrian constraints?
Just how committed am I to this "carless transportation" thing?
At the outset I think my level of commitment felt something like: any time I could walk instead of drive, I would. Period. All other situations, meetings, appointments, doctors, all that felt outside of the realm of my thinking about walking as much as possible. After all, walking most days to school should make up for those anomalies.
A new feeling lurks in my concience now. Maybe the question feels more like: Why am I driving? What's so important about this dentist, who's three miles from our home, when at least three other dentists set up offices within blocks of our house? Surely they're nice people. Surely one of them works with our insurance. For an interview, I think I would still drive. For a one-time trip, say, a vacation, I would drive. But driving less has heightened my awareness of the plethora of options for keeping my feet on the ground, and my hands free for the routines in my life.
Maybe tomorrow, while extracting fossil fules from the pump, I could make a call to the new dentist's office two blocks from home. Heck, maybe I'll just walk on over there in person. It's always good to meet new neighbors.
No comments:
Post a Comment