Steve Pope wrote:
> Julie Bove > wrote:
>
>> "Steve Pope" > wrote in message
>
>>> I have to say that, were I to find myself doing what you do -- by
>>> preference spending all my time indoors or in motor vehicles --
>>> it would feel to me like I was trapped in a giant neurosis.
>
>> Luckily I don't feel that way.
>
> Obviously not, and that's good.
>
> Due to my social background, my family of origin did not own an
> automobile for most of the time I was a child. In the case of my
> older sisters,
> my family never owned an automobile at all during their childhood.
> For us the norm was always walking, riding a bicycle or taking public
> transit. Prior to about age 10 I spent very little time in anyone's
> private
> motor vehicle, perhaps a few times per year at most. And presently,
> neither my wife nor myself need a motor vechicle for commuting
> and this has been true the vast majority of our 33 years together.
>
> Just trying to explain why your situation would seem very dissonant
> to me.

My mom did not drive when we were very young. So we didn't go anywhere
unless my dad took us. We lived in Wichita but a rural area. I do remember
walking to a little store once with my grandma who was watching us while my
mom was in the hospital. Grandma had forgotten to pack her denture adhesive
and had to go buy some. But I don't remember my mom walking anywhere with
us except to the neighbor's house.

My brother was very sick when he was young so my mom had to relearn how to
drive. She had an incident while driving that seemed to have scarred her
very badly mentally and relearning to drive was not an easy thing for her to
do.

She did get a car. She did drive, but... She would only drive on certain
roads. She would never go on the freeway and would not drive on any roads
that she considered to be busy. Therefore we learned to get all that we
needed within a 2 mile (or thereabouts) radius of our house. Thankfully in
those days there were several grocery stores, a drugstore, department store,
Dr., dentist and hospital. This was after we moved to WA. She did hate to
cross one busy road and sometimes I found myself having to talk her through
it. It was as though she had a panic attack with all the traffic.

There was a grocery store and then later a drugstore just one block from our
house. So we did often walk there. But aside from that, the only walking
we did was to go to a friend's house or to school. And I led a busy life as
a child with many extracurricular activities. So that mean using the car.

My friend who is a few years older than me moved to WA from Minnesota. Once
here they lived in Seattle proper and they did not have a car. She said she
was put on the city bus at an early age and she did walk places. But now
she mostly drives. She is afraid to drive in the snow and she will walk
then. At least to the bus. She works far enough away from her house that
she can not walk there. But if she walks a few blocks she can get a bus.
There is also a 7-11 near her house so she will walk there if she needs
something.

But many of us who live in the Suburbs do not have anything within walking
distance of our house. I was in Redmond today and couldn't believe how many
miles I drove through a residental area just to get to where the freeway
was. There were no stores of any kind in that area.