Monday, September 07, 2009

Walking Again


By the end of next month I should be moved in and settled in a new place -- new to me at any rate -- in the trendy and walkable Greenwood Neighborhood of Seattle.

It's always been my favorite neighborhood, ever since I was a kid. And now, in an era when the ideal of every citizen owning his or her own gas buggy is, out of necessity, passing into history, its eminent walkability is its biggest draw. I know I'll enjoy it because that was the best part of the numerous months I spent apartment sitting at my daughter's place in San Francisco over the past few years.

Of course, I'll be moving there about the time Seattle's winter rains begin in earnest, and I know I'm going to get wet. And I know what that's like too, because I was in San Francisco for March of '06, which was the wettest March on record there. It rained every day except one, but even with that, it was better being there than someplace like Desert Hot Springs, where you're completely dependent on a car every day, for everything.

I'll admit, I've really enjoyed driving over the years. I always went wherever I wanted to go, wasted a lot of gas, and probably did my share of damage to poor old Mom's atmosphere. But now the time for that is over, and if we'd had anything even approaching real leadership in this country during the past few decades, it would have been over long since. Now, under, the additional necessity of quitting driving for medical and safety reasons, this time when I get out of the car will be the last.

3 comments:

Joe said...

I find that driving is a bit stressful. I'm glad I drove only about 5 times last year.

©∂†ß0X∑® said...

Joe, you're way ahead of me in the "get out of the car" dept. I'm gonna have to play catch-up /:=(

DB

Joe said...

Dave, I'm glad that you are working on it and I think you will be able to do it. Getting the right circumstances for being progressive isn't very easy.