I live in one of the most walkable cities in the US, a city that also boasts a slightly unreliable but mostly efficient public transportation system,
and I miss my car.
A lot.
I am that spoiled.
What’s worse is that I’ve never been a big driving person to begin with. I delayed getting my driver’s license in high school, and even after I did, I was the friend who everyone offered to pick up or drop off, because if they didn’t offer, I’d find some sneaky way to ask.
Also, I drove a 1983 Oldsmobile Omega that had a bad habit of losing the will to drive while idling at red lights and then refusing to restart for an hour or so. That might have had something to do with it.
And I didn’t buy my own car until I was almost 21, and I pretty much HAD to find one so I could get from my apartment to my classes. If I had moved to Appian Way rather than Deerfield Village, I wouldn’t have bothered.
But driving freely around the state and the country for 3.5 years really ruined me.
I miss NPR.
I miss buying drinks at gas station stores.
I miss blasting music and singing at the top of my lungs.
I miss having an extra sweater or hairband or pair of shoes or 75 cents stuffed in between the seats.
I miss road trips.
But most of all…
I miss being able to manage my extreme forgetfulness with a quick U-turn,
because on days such as today,
when I got up at 6 a.m.
so I could go to Starbucks for a few hours and work on a paper at my leisure,
and realize once my dear darling boyfriend has dropped me off,
that both the book upon which my paper should be written,
AND the extensive lunch I delicately packed, full of healthful snacks to get me from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
were both still in my apartment,
that U-Turn could have come in handy.
Alas, alack,
I am stuck
watching trains pull up and pull away at Brookline Village, waiting for one empty enough for one-more-person to squeeze on
(third time’s the charm!),
procrastinating on my homework, despite my best intentions,
and spending 10 dollars
at the lousy salad bar
again.
Car, I miss you. I hope to see you again, someday, in Auto Salvage Heaven.