Life In The Slow Lane
(or how I learned to love my four-wheel scooter)
Shakespeare famously wrote:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
I've reached that final age: Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. In with that "sans everything" is my driver's license, which I voluntarily gave up last year when extreme vertigo attacks made me realize I had reached another milestone in a long and lucky life. My doctor was relieved as next to diagnosing an incurable illness, taking away a senior's driving license is one of the hardest things they have to do.
A car is freedom. A car is independence. A car is an extension of your very personality, and without one you seem somehow diminished. I miss my car like hell. No doubt about that. Yes, I have good friends who offer me rides, and bless them for that, but the idea of being dependent on other people after a lifetime of independence is hard to take. But in this final act of my seven stages I've learned to adapt and change. My horizons have shrunk and I must plan ahead for everything from shopping for groceries to medical appointments. No more "popping out" for milk or bread. No more impetuous afternoon drives. No more lengthy trips to shopping malls to search for bargains. As a widower it's difficult to ask people out for dinner or to a movie, when they have to drive me. Male ego is certainly a factor here. But what to do?
At first I tried the local bus which stops outside my apartment twice a week and takes in our shopping area. Great in summer weather but not so much fun when the bus is ten minutes late in minus 5 degree weather. Then there's the question of time. With my own car I could take off at a moment's notice and it constituted a giant purse: I used to carry an extra coat, cough candies, sunglasses, water bottle, various shopping bags, and my own music. I rarely used the umbrella stored in the trunk. I could load up on specials and shop for special menus with no thought about bulk and weight. Schelping boxes of kitty litter or 10 kilogram bags of whole-wheat flour on a bus simply isn't on.
Our local Community Care Association has been a life-saver. Staffed by professionals who really seem to like their job and their clients, they juggle a roster of volunteer drivers who will take you shopping and to medical appointments and wait for you until you're ready to go home again, and their fee is minimal. Try that with any taxi company! But three days notice is required for any such rides, so advanced planning is needed. Again that freedom and independence a car gave me.
Eventually I discovered the four-wheel electric scooter. You will see more and more of these as the baby boom generation ages and enters their seventh stage. I call it life in the slow lane. At a top speed of 6 km per hour I've had to adjust to taking twenty minutes to get to my local grocery stores. At first it seemed agonizingly slow as everyone whizzed passed me, but them I discovered quieter roads through a local sub-division and I began to enjoy the actual trip. At
6 km per hour you get to smell the flowers and freshly cut grass. You can hear birds sing. You get to talk to people in their gardens. You see more. You learn to slow down. Better yet, you sail past gas stations where frustrated motorists are filling up at $1.39+ a litre, and you smile indulgently as they make feeble jokes about the mileage I'm getting. Oh sweet revenge!
My Fortress scooter is made in Canada and has huge shopping baskets fore and aft. It goes right in the store with me and I and take my time shopping. A line-up at the cash register? Who care, I'm sitting. I can do 30 km on one charge, but I doubt I'll ever go that far so I never suffer from range anxiety. I can now drive to our local parks and get in a good walk before driving home. Of course I can't use it on rainy days and just sitting there can get chilly at times, but on balance I have some of my independence back. Even parked in our underground garage it gives me a feeling of freedom. When I have to put it away for the winter I will miss my scooter as much as I missed my car - but life in the slow lane turned out to be fun and so much cheaper. |
