6 Months

We passed our 6 months without a car in mid-March. As you can see, it was such a monumental occasion that I lost track of when the date was! Being a pedestrian has really become part of who I am now, and I often forget that I'm doing something different until I get the occasional question of "How do you and Jonathan manage?"

There is a great sense of community amongst us non-car-owners. Although I don't know any of their names, I feel like I have a friendly relationship with my bus drivers, fellow riders and fellow walkers. I actually found out a few weeks ago that the guy who cuts my hair does not have a car by choice. He said that he used to live in Atlanta, which has a much superior public transportation system to Memphis, and when he moved back to Midtown he decided to keep on using public transportation instead of a car. I am very pleased that at least Midtown is pedestrian friendly, since we have such a nice mix of residential, business, service, and cultural outlets in a reasonable walking area.

Of course there are downsides to not having a car. Some of them are having to stay two more hours at work late at night when I miss a bus, getting hungry at work when I forget to pack an afternoon snack and I have no way of getting one, feeling like a mooch a lot when asking friends for rides, and not being able to visit our family out of town as much.

The upsides (is that a word???) are also plentiful: walking everyday, forced running several evenings a week, lots more face time with my husband (since we walk together to the grocery store, to Target, to eat dinner out, to Overton Park, etc.), leaving a smaller carbon footprint, enjoying all of the spring flowers and trees, quality time with friends while they transport me hither and yon, and a better appreciation for people in Memphis who also rely on MATA and friends for transportation.

I must thank all of our friends for getting us through this past six months! I know I can't name all of them, but the ones I can think of now are Becky, Justin, Ashley, Prentice, Katie, Ryan, Stacey, Leslie, Brian, Whitney, Lindsey, Luke, Chris, Crystal, Matthew, Lenox, LaShonda, Lee, Leigh, Elizabeth, Jerry, Marjorie, Wiley, Josh, Marissa...and I'm sure others that I am forgetting.

I'm always eager to help fellow Memphians join the revolution : ) I'm going to put my challenge out there again to pick one trip in which you would normally drive your car and instead walk, ride your bike, or take the bus. If you want to take up the challenge but don't know where to start, let me know and we will figure out a plan!