Blog from the CarLess Days

Here is one of the many blog posts from the 80 days without a car in Los Angeles....    You can substitute just about any city for "Los Angeles" as you read.  Also, know that I worked at TreePeople where bus loads of children came every day to learn about the "city forest" and the environment.  


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So. It looks like I got what I wanted. I got to see what it felt like to go with zero carbon emissions. I got to tackle the Los Angeles bus system. I got to build muscles in my calves and thighs as I biked up and down, to and fro. I got to see what life would be like in Los Angeles...without a car.

I got to make new friends.

I got to almost pull my hair out waiting at bus stops.

I got to scream at nothing when going up a killer hill via bike.

I got to blog.

I got to learn patience in the utmost.

I got to be a traveller in my own town.

I discovered the secrets of a city. I have become part of the city in ways that not many people here can claim.

I shed tears.

I shed fears.

I laughed, hated, and loved.

And I am a new person because of it.

LA can be done car-free. I met many upon many who are car-free and are just fine.

What if we could shift it? What if we could all get out of our cars more? Experience each other more? Experience the air and sunshine more? Go like children on bikes powered by nothing but our own awesome energy?

What would Los Angeles look like with more bike paths, some swanky monorail systems, more parks, and less parking lots?

Many people say that this is too grand of a task. I laugh at that. They've forgotten.

I wish y'all could see the faces of the children when I tell them that once upon a time in a land called Los Angeles, there were no cars. That there was a time of no roads. A time with no sidewalks, X-boxes, schools, nor houses.

I get gasps. I get eyes widening big. I get tongues hanging from the sides of mouths. I get uneasy chuckles, as if I were telling a fib. I then ask them to imagine what it would look like...

They pause. Grasping this.

Some say: Like a forest.... Many say: Beautiful.

What if we brought beauty back? After all, we made this city, this world what it is. Take time to Look Around to see all we've created! It's amazing! This computer. This chair. This floor. This music. This everything.If we can do all this without thinking of the effects, consider what we can do...considering the effects. With consciousness. With beauty and consideration in mind.

It's an amazing time to be alive, my dears. Let's make use of it.

I love y'all. See you in the streets...

Tree-lined city street in St. Louis.  Photo Courtesy of the City of St. Louis 

Bike lane in China