Where the Sidewalk Ends

Our luxury sidewalk. Note the dirt pile across the alley. Yeah, you can't walk on that.

I no longer own a car. It is a temporary move, as we fully intend to get a nice truck when we have saved up. But for now, we are unable to pick you up at the airport, so please delay travel plans.

We no longer have a car because we very suddenly sold our Volvo to a man named José. He called within hours of its debut, even though we posted it on Craig's List as "for parts." Even though we told him everything that was wrong with it. Even though we warmed it up for half an hour and it wouldn't shift out of first. He still wanted it.

We asked a measly $600, hoping to get $500, but really just not wanting to have to pay to have it towed away. We needed to sell it in a hurry for two reasons:

1. We received a ticket for having expired tags.†
2. We received a ticket for parking in our "driveway," which is apparently not a legal parking space because it crosses the sidewalk.†† Thus we had to park in the street, which made our expired tags very easy to see.

As I mentioned in a previous post (Birthday Blowout), I am not a good haggler. Well, I could learn a thing or two from José. Perhaps he could sense the urgency of our situation. At any rate, he never once kicked the tires. Instead he made me carefully repeat exactly what was wrong with it a few different times, and then asked how much it would be to get a new transmission. When I told him a mechanic quoted me $2900, he whistled. "Is expensive."

It all put me in a very remorseful position, as though we really had no business asking for any money at all. Graciously, he offered $400. What a good guy.

Darby was unmoved. "450," she shot back. After a beat, José agreed.

I admit, I was impressed. Darby had heard the exact same angles as I had, and still had the wherewithal to net an extra 12.5% on the bid. As he drove off to get the money, I felt very proud of my wife. No one could just show up and screw my family out of a deal. We were smarter, and tougher than that. We didn't need his money. We had tons of other people who couldn't wait to see our '95 Volvo sedan if it was still available. We made the terms here. $400? Who did he think he was anyway?

After an hour, some of the post-haggle high wearing off, I was pretty sure he wasn't coming back. But come back he did, and José still had another trick up his sleeve.

"I'm sorry for bad news," he started. Bad news? "The ATM would only give 400," he explained. "I tried to get more at gas station, but they would only give 20... is ok?"

"Yes. Is ok."

Here is the part where I tell you that not owning a car is the greatest thing that ever happened to me, that I have been liberated from myriad municipal fees and the crushing price of petrol, that my carbon footprint is now smaller than my calf muscles. It is what I've wanted and threatened to do for years. Instead, I have to say that I am a little freaked out, and this is because there is no longer even the option to drive. I am realizing that there is a big difference between choosing to bike and having to bike.†††

There is also a weird (and absolutely unforeseen) social aspect to it, and that is that I feel like I have regressed slightly. Owning a car is a symbol of independence.†††† It is part of being an adult, and being able to go where you please, when you please. It is a symbol of financial stability, and perhaps even mental stability. There is even a safety issue to owning a car. Without one, I will have to bike or bum a ride to the ER the next time I chop the tip of my thumb off,††††† like a common teenager.

Sadly, it may be a while before we can save up to buy another auto. For now we will just have to wait out the thunderstorms and double up our errands. Biking to the store is not always the most convenient way to spend an evening, but it's kind of romantic–the fiery sunsets burning over the west mesa as we return home, our backs bent under the heft of fresh produce.

Despite my dreams of being totally self-sufficient, I know we will have to own a car again. We have even begun trolling Craig's List, getting an idea about the market values, avoiding the ads signed José.



† Our tags had been expired for some time (as in they still said "Land of Lincoln") and we didn't want to pay to get new ones because we don't really drive, AND we were pretty sure that we would fail our emissions test anyway (for the record, we still consider ourselves "environmentalists").

†† It is the only sidewalk for several blocks in either direction. It is our own personal sidewalk.

††† I swear to god, these revelations I have while blogging just seem so obvious once I write them down.

†††† Despite the fact that the freeway is our country's only viable transportation superstructure, one that relies hopelessly on imported and finite resources.

††††† About a month before I dislocated my finger, I had an accident while chopping celery. What an asshole.