69 Days

The title would lead you to believe this post is going to be on the racy side.

In fact, it's rather anti-racy.

I mean, how fast can a Metro bus go?

My beautiful Saab went on life support February 3rd.

I was headed to the store on a frigid Saturday morning when I noticed a massive cloud of smoke pouring out from behind my five speed. My car cruised over to the right side of a two lane road and never drove an inch again.

I was heartbroken. I was devastated. I was helpless.

Or so I thought.

Some tough love and tough circumstances forced me to explore the world around me. Life sans-car led me to realize there's a world of people out there who manage to get from Point A to Point B (and sometimes all the way to Point G) without a set of car keys.

This little challenge made me realize how important public transportation is to a city worth it's mettle. Metro does a lot to get people around the Queen City, but I am a firm believer Cincinnati needs to explore committing its resources to expand its transportation offerings. Light rail would be awesome! More bus transfer points are essential.

I've also been forced to save money. There's no other way to say it, that totally sucks. It's kind of like doing the dishes - you might hate hate hate hate doing it, but no one else is going to do it for you, and you'll be up shit creek if you don't do it sooner or later.

My 69 days without a car has also exposed me to the kindness of others. So many people have been extremely generous with giving me rides around down. My friends and family have literally gone out of their way to help me buy groceries, take care of banking needs and have fun from time to time. I aim to pay if forward.

First and formost though, this has been a tremendous opportunity for me to be grateful for what I do have. I have my health. I have a great job. I'm busy and have lots of kind people in my life.

I am not destitute. I am not depressed. My life is not mired by any significant challenge.

I've only had to weather 69 days without a car.

No biggie.