Another Reason I'm Carless

I walked to the grocery store this morning. At the bottom of the hill, the intersection can get pretty busy in the morning, so I stood there for a couple of minutes waiting for the light to turn. While there, a bus pulled up to the stop (as is common, this being a 15 minute route). I was suddenly overwhelmed with a deep, intense desire to simply climb aboard the bus and ride it to where it takes me, then the next and the next and next, just to see where I ultimately end up.

This is something which strikes me every once in a while, and I ignore it with the thoughts of everything I'm doing right then... thankfully, it hasn't really struck when I'm out bored, or I'd be on the bus wandering the valley. Now, this may not seem like a reason to be without a car, but...

It was worse when I drove. I'd get in, and the urge to hop on the freeway and drive would strike. I managed to keep it down most days, with errands or school or work or friendly obligations. There was a time when it wasn't so easy... I got as far as Spanish Fork one day, until I decided I would end up out of gas in rural Utah, a fate worse than death, and turned around. If I had gone east or north instead of south, who knows where I'd be today?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to leave. I'd love to drop everything and be adventurous for a day, week, year or decade. In many ways, that's the problem. If I had to face that temptation, day after day, week after week, I would eventually give in. I'd load my wonderful wife and two cute kids into my car, send a quick email to my boss telling him I'd be gone until I wasn't, and we'd just... drive. Until the car runs out of gas, or our pocket book empties, or we find a place to spend the night/week, or we get bored and irritable and decide it might just be time to go home.

I couldn't handle the temptation to road trip, so I'm glad I don't have a car.