I really thought I could get by without a license at this point. No. I wanted, almost needed, to get by without a license. I was willing to jump through all sorts of hoops if it meant not being behind the wheel of a car ever again.
That would have been so much easier fifty years ago.
That would have been so much easier fifty years ago.
15 comments:
My Dad never learned to drive until he was 40. :)
@B: I feel a little better about it, then. ^_^
Been there, done that. I thought that I would be fine without a driver's lisence when I was 16. And I was fine for several years. But the older you get, the more important having one seems to be. Especially when you live in a more or less rural area. I wish that America had a better public transportation infrastructure, like Japan.
@Dan: No kidding. Though at least our mass transit isn't as bad as in Ireland. (Nothing runs on time. Ever.)
I've read that drivers in Irealand also pay the equivalent of $6.00 U.S. for the metric equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. Not a very good place to have to get around. At least it's a pretty small country.
@Dan: Just about everything is more expensive over there. It's crazy. The size is an advantage, like you said. At least it doesn't take forever to get from one end of the country to the other. Which is a weird thought considering I've rarely been out of *state.*
But here in America the average state is about the size of the average European country. And the average Canadian province is only slightly larger. XP
@Dan: True. It was just an odd thing to me at first. I guess that's what happens when you grow up in such a huge country.
It depends on where you live. If you live in a city, you can get away without knowing how to drive. Public transportation is available and cities make it hard to own your own car. But in more rural areas... or having a job outside the city... then a car is essential.
@Robert: Yeah. Pretty much. Though even in a city using public transport can be tough. Well, at least for those with a tendency toward motion sickness. (Oog.)
Brigid,
I think I know what you mean, but - - - "That would have been so much easier fifty years ago."???
I remember "fifty years ago:" and suspect that you'd have found American culture at least as annoying then, as it is now. As I've said (too often?) the 'good old days' weren't.
@Dad: Well, yeah, but in terms of driving, I seem to recall at least hearing that it was easier to get away without having a license back then.
Brigid,
Actually, ca. 1961, USA, the country was probably more designed around the use of automobiles than it is today. I haven't researched it, though. It was in the '60s and particularly '70s that I recall starting to run into discussions of the lack of accommodation for pedestrian traffic.
On the other hand, then as now, a person who lived in a rural area and never left the family farm could live quite comfortably without a state-issued driver's license. The last I checked, a person may legally operate a wide range of machinery on property owned by that person, or that person's family, without state sanction.
And, of course, some cities have had quite adequate public transportation for generations. Others, not so much. ;)
@Dad: Silly me. I keep thinking of "fifty years ago" being the fifties. Gotta remember what decade it is.
@Dad: Funny, I thought I already published this comment of yours. Hmm. And Commenting on it. Odd. Maybe it's part of the recent service outage. Anyway, oops. Still thinking of the fifties as 'fifty years ago.' Gotta keep track of what decade I'm at.
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