Cars, can't live with them, can't shoot them. I've been driving more than normal for me, which means I've been driving, period. While I'm driving, I've been thinking about cars and trucks. It's kind of difficult to get around the hinterlands of central CA without a vehicle. In the early 1900's this area had an electric railroad. Trips to the river, to cool off before air conditioning; trips to the city, if you can call 10,000 people a city and even high school athletic trips were taken by train. But those tracks have been pulled up or are infrequently being used, certainly no passenger service except Amtrak. This summer our family was in San Diego for a week. We, all six of us, drove there. We have traveled by train as a group and it can get expensive for long trips. That is why we drive. I guess if we ditched the van, then more train trips could be possible. While in San Diego we used their light rail system. We rode down to Tijuana one evening. The rail cars were full of people commuting home to TJ and in places we could see the freeways, they were congested and even stopped. The rail system seemed to be working and it made me think of what central CA could be like.
I've been accused of thinking too much, so that shouldn't be a surprise. Our two oldest, they aren't children, are driving and the third could if we'd sign him up for driver's training. I remember those heady days driving for the first time and the car lust in the '70s that was a carryover from the '50s and '60s. The older two have had collisions and we have been dealing with insurance companies and car repair and them sharing rides to the local JC and more vehicle purchases. I'm thinking about the role of cars in our world and more specifically how my view of cars has changed from when I was my children's age to now. Cars are a tool to me. It's taken me decades to get to that place. I need to remember not to try an impose that idea on others overnight. But, I'm wondering if we have, out of convenience, been misusing our tools. Have we been using a kitchen knife as a screwdriver, because it is inconvenient to walk outside to get a real screwdriver? 'Heck the knife is here and it's just one little screw.' The convenient thing to do has become more prevalent than the correct thing to do.
I recently read the obituary of an auto dealer from Fresno. He was the biggest dealer in Fresno for many years. He had to drop out of school after the eighth grade because of the Depression and after WWII he returned to Fresno and became quite successful selling cars. Something that was said in the obit stood out to me. One of the gentleman's granddaughters told how her grandfather would talk about how the car changed the valley and how it became possible for people to not have to live in the city to work in the city. He talked about how cars literally changed the landscape of the area. More and bigger roadways changing the rich farmland. It was so convenient to drive 20+ miles to Visalia or even 50+ miles to Fresno to make purchases. I think the time of that kind of change has passed us.
A new change has to happen. The valley is the second worst place in the US to live for air quality. Last year we were the worst, even worse than LA. I am not blaming that gentleman or others like him for the air problems. I'm not going to even blame cars for all of the problem. It is a complicated issue that will take years and many changes to bring about. It will take all of us to accomplish the changes. How do cars fit in this equation? Maybe it is good that we have congestion and traffic jams in the valley now. Maybe it is good for us that the roads are less convenient than they used to be. Maybe instead of building more and bigger roads we try something else. Maybe the time of using the knife to turn the screw is over. Lets go back to using our screwdriver.
I've been accused of thinking too much, so that shouldn't be a surprise. Our two oldest, they aren't children, are driving and the third could if we'd sign him up for driver's training. I remember those heady days driving for the first time and the car lust in the '70s that was a carryover from the '50s and '60s. The older two have had collisions and we have been dealing with insurance companies and car repair and them sharing rides to the local JC and more vehicle purchases. I'm thinking about the role of cars in our world and more specifically how my view of cars has changed from when I was my children's age to now. Cars are a tool to me. It's taken me decades to get to that place. I need to remember not to try an impose that idea on others overnight. But, I'm wondering if we have, out of convenience, been misusing our tools. Have we been using a kitchen knife as a screwdriver, because it is inconvenient to walk outside to get a real screwdriver? 'Heck the knife is here and it's just one little screw.' The convenient thing to do has become more prevalent than the correct thing to do.
I recently read the obituary of an auto dealer from Fresno. He was the biggest dealer in Fresno for many years. He had to drop out of school after the eighth grade because of the Depression and after WWII he returned to Fresno and became quite successful selling cars. Something that was said in the obit stood out to me. One of the gentleman's granddaughters told how her grandfather would talk about how the car changed the valley and how it became possible for people to not have to live in the city to work in the city. He talked about how cars literally changed the landscape of the area. More and bigger roadways changing the rich farmland. It was so convenient to drive 20+ miles to Visalia or even 50+ miles to Fresno to make purchases. I think the time of that kind of change has passed us.
A new change has to happen. The valley is the second worst place in the US to live for air quality. Last year we were the worst, even worse than LA. I am not blaming that gentleman or others like him for the air problems. I'm not going to even blame cars for all of the problem. It is a complicated issue that will take years and many changes to bring about. It will take all of us to accomplish the changes. How do cars fit in this equation? Maybe it is good that we have congestion and traffic jams in the valley now. Maybe it is good for us that the roads are less convenient than they used to be. Maybe instead of building more and bigger roads we try something else. Maybe the time of using the knife to turn the screw is over. Lets go back to using our screwdriver.
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