AF in Nashville, TN -
In an age of massive consumerism, bigger is better, the person with the most toys wins mentality, some folks are starting to see that the Emperor is not wearing any clothes. For some they caught a glimpse of the recent movie concerning global warming, others it was their empty pocket book at the pump, others still have been riding their bikes around town all along.
And slowly, some people are getting it. Some of us are realizing it's okay to slow down. Two car garages don't necessitate two cars. Bike lanes aren't a waste of space. Rush hour and traffic jams really are stealing away our lives. Suddenly people realize using your muscles and breaking a sweat isn't just something you do at the gym or on the toilet.
Before you know it, the local grocer down the street seems a lot more appealing then a day trip to mega-mart and the mall. Stopping at the post office isn't a chore; it's a destination on a Saturday stroll around town. You find out the person you pass by in your respective air conditioned personal bubbles is actually your neighbor you'd never met. No longer do you need to build tall fences to avoid them. Now, your weekend entertainment doesn’t require a drive to the consumer-plex, an evening BBQ with your new friends next door seems so much more fulfilling.
Economist and capitalist can crunch the numbers all they want on how much our society has improved because of vehicles. We can certainly acknowledge how accessible it's made our world. But let's be careful of letting the machines control our lives. It's time to do some of our own arithmetic and start subtracting one car at a time. Our lives will be better for it.
Remember - "Minus is the new Plus."
4 comments:
" The machines are going to fail"
-Deliverence
Thanks for posting my essay!
"Never send a human to do a machines job" - Matrix
My Love Of BicyclesI have owned many different bicycles in my life. I decided in my early twenties that I could live just fine with just a few bicycles and without a car. I have different bicycles for different uses.I live in Houston and use the Houston streets for my transportation. I regularly use one of my light duty mountain bicycles for grocery shopping. The light duty mountain bicycles are not as tough as my mountain bicycles. Light duty mountain bikes are also referred to as trail bikes.I would never take a trail bike off-road. I have a really tough mountain bike with a full suspension system for taking camping. I try to get out and really ride on my mountain bicycle at least once per month. I usually know at least one person that is going cycling every weekend. It is easy to hitch a ride with them.Some of the most expensive bicycles are recumbent. I bought one for myself and I love it. It allows me to sit in a reclined position and pedal with my feet forward. My recumbent bicycle seat feels like a lounge chair. My model is one of the faster ones and I love it.I had a boyfriend once that was also interested in bicycles. We rode together everywhere and he talked me into buying a tandem bicycle. That was a huge mistake. We just could not work together on that bicycle and it amplified the problems in our relationship that were just below the surface. We broke up about two months after the purchase of that tandem bike.I was on one of my bicycles just getting some exercise last week and I rode past a retirement community and saw something amazing. I thought I was up on all of the available bicycles, but I had never seen an adult tricycle before. They were amazing. I stopped and chatted with one of the women riders and she told me that she hadnt been able to ride bicycles in about twenty years. She needed the stability that the adult tricycle had to offer and felt like she had new freedom.My nephew has recently become interested in bicycles. He wants a BMX bicycle for his birthday. He asked me for it because, as the most enthusiastic bicycle rider he knows, I am most likely to indulge his desire. I think that I am going to try to talk him into a free style bike instead. If I cant talk him into a free style bike, I may end up buying both bicycles for him. I want him to love cycling as much as I do.To learn more about everything bicycles vist my site at: BrensMartUSA Bicycles Have a geat day and stay healthy!Brenda Sue
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