handy girl goes greener, searches for alternatives

a prophetic woman told me recently that i would be changing vehicles. she said it had nothing to do with a car accident and i would be very happy with the decision. letting go of my little red car had not entered my mind before, and this led me to question and ponder her insistent words.

i’ve lived without a car many times. i got by just fine with a 1950’s baby carriage, for jaunts to the laundromat or the grocery store. sky train, subway and bus tickets have frequently taken up space in my pockets. my feet have also been very good tools for getting me where i’ve needed to go.

one time, i got a job where i’d quadruple my income and challenge my creativity. the only problem was, it was fifty city blocks away and started at six in the morning, meaning it was impossible to get there by public transit. i knew cycling was my only option, but i didn’t have a bike as a child and i never really learned to ride.

so i hoofed it over to the local bike shop. the boys chuckled at my clumsiness on wheels display, but made the time to teach me. on the first day of work, it took just under an hour to get there, and at least half the trip was spent pushing the bike up the hills. by the third month, i could cycle the route in twelve minutes and had developed legs of steel.

i’ve lived with a car for a while now, as a single parent with a child whose school was a distance away, as a tv and movie girl who went on the road to buy things or travel to and from the set, as a canadian who took off from time to time, to explore more of this great land.

over the last couple of weeks, the universe has been giving me clues that it’s time to let go of my car. during a routine servicing, my karmachanic told me i would soon need new brakes and tires. the next day, the city increased the price of parking from a dollar to a dollar twenty five an hour. i bought a latte yesterday at steve-o-reno’s, and accidentally spilled it all over my car.

when i put a for sale sign in the window, i got a ticket for having a for sale sign ‘on a highway’. i was parked at a meter for half an hour, on a street in the city, a street that nobody would ever think was a highway. i’ll be fighting this one in court, and i’ll bring some handy photographic evidence of the street in question, illustrating the absence of a highway aesthetic or highway signage, for that matter.

i am now excited about letting go of my car. my karmachanic says she’s a good car and aside from regular upkeep, i’ve had no problems. to de-car my life will be an organic process, and i am open to trades, barters or alternative methods of payment, so like, if you have a piano you don’t want, we can talk.

suggestions for alternative methods of transportation are welcomed and encouraged. i am thinking along the lines of a handy human powered vehicle, or some kind of handy go-cart. for now, happiness is putting one foot in front of the other and walking the path. lo and behold, i do believe the grass just got a little greener.