Quote:
Originally Posted by Triple Jim
I've been through the arithmetic with a couple different old people when it came time for them to sell their cars and stop driving. When you add up all the costs of owning and operating a car, you find you can call a cab quite a few times a year and still be way ahead. The biggest problem they had was giving up the perceived freedom.
I'm not calling anyone here old, by the way, and I hate euphemisms like "senior citizens".  I'm getting old. |
Ha,ha. People shouldn't be ashamed of being called old. I like being old! I honestly am happier right now than I have been in my whole life! I have it made! I do what I want, when I want, because I want to. Everyone gets old, no way to avoid it. You might as well enjoy it.
Yes Jim, people see cars as freedom and the more that they have, the better they expect life to be. In my old age, I see it differently. I see that happiness comes from having the exact number of things we need in life. No more, no less. And the fewer things we can get along with, the easier, happier and less complicated life becomes.
We spend most of our lives buying, selling, trading, dumping, moving, maintaining, paying for and supporting "stuff" we don't even need.
But, suggest to people that they might consider getting rid of any of it and they come up with endless reasons why they need the "stuff" they collect.
My bike works for me. It's small, fuel efficient, easy to repair, light weight, cheap, disposable and it keeps me active.
I would give anything to live in a place like Europe where trains go everywhere and public transportation was close by. My little bike is the closest compromise I have found to not having public transportation available.