Something like a ball and chain
We are unlike our neighbours. Even though our home is deep in the suburban hills, and we could probably swing the financial side of the thing, we are one of the only families on the street to qualify as a single car household. Quite a feat, when the average in some of the houses hereabouts is more than one auto per person. My wife has a van, and I have a bus pass. Our schedules have been consistent for about two decades. Synchronicity.
On the odd day, I take the car outside of the city limits. Away from the double-wide streets and the big store parking lots. Away from driveways that hold most of those cars. Into the alternate universe of the old city. This afternoon, son #1 decided to go off to a rock concert known as Woodstock En Beauce, complete with a folding chair, cold beer, several blankets and a borrowed cellphone that required a cash injection immediately. My role was to drop him off at a stranger’s home for a ride. “Mom, serial killers don’t have to go grocery shopping beforehand” provided the equivalent of a passport.
The first thing I had to note is that one way streets on very steep hills with parking on both sides mean that my clearances for “the van” were much less than around home. There were pedestrians that had the cross without looking from between parked cars on the middle of the block disease. There were city repair cones and traffic lights with very short delays. “I do not like green eggs and ham” said Sam I am. “I do not like this driving” said I. So I decided to park and get something to eat.
It seems that only certain automobiles are allowed to park in the city centre. They have special stickers and road signage and people in blue cars that give tickets. About 99% of the available parking spots are already in use. For the visitor, the quest for the holy grail of a free parking spot is a long and arduous battle.
I finally found a spot in front of a church that would allow me ten minutes maximum, locked the beast of burden and headed off to a sub shop that is so much more welcoming for the person who travels by city transit and foot. I knew what I wanted, I knew where it was, and I was very goal directed. I finished my mission in nine minutes and fifty-three seconds.
So, this is what it’s like to have a car to get around. Something like a ball and chain…
