A Day In The Life
photo: time.com
Yesterday was one of those picture perfect days blessed with sunny skies, cool morning temps, blossoming trees and flowers, little critters busy gathering food their nests, fresh fruit for breakfast and even a decent morning commute.
I loaded the panniers on my trusty steed and sailed off into the world of pavement, cars and trucks navigated by driven individuals. Driven by profit and fueled by caffeine, Xanax and talk radio. I sail along effortlessly until my first right turn, when I’m greeted by a truckload full of rednecks honking and screaming “fucker” and “faggot.”
Charming young troglodytes, all. I return the courtesy and acknowledge them with half of a peace sign and peddle onward.
As I’m late, I choose a different route, much busier and more dangerous than my normal route, but almost two and one half miles shorter and with fewer hills. The choice pays off, and I reach the office by nine.
Riding back it’s a bit hotter. Nearly 80 degrees. Same route, but more tiring as I near the twenty mile mark on the odometer. As my legs pump up the last hill, I can definitely feel the hygroscopic organic acid in my quads made worse by a brisk five mile run the day before. At 45, I feel it a lot more than I did at 35, but I’m determined to keep running, cycling and hiking my entire life. Especially the hiking. Can’t imagine a life without hiking.
It may not make much difference in the big scheme of things, but I feel pretty good about riding my bike to work. I rarely see others, and while that’s discouraging, it doesn’t deter me. I got a good workout and didn’t spend a dime on gas.
As I biked, I sort of slipped away into an imaginary world. I imagined a community of hundreds of commuters on bikes. Talking to one another at stop signs, along the path. Discussing their rigs, passing on tips. Bike traffic jams, parking lots full of bikes.
All I need now is gas to hit ten dollars a gallon….
Michael Pollan had an interesting essay published in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine titled “Why Bother?” It expressed many of the same sentiments I often feel, mainly, why bother doing these things when millions and millions, the vast majority, aren’t going to do shit? He states that “sometimes you have to act as if acting will make a difference, even when you can’t prove that it will.”
One person doing something can turn into two, then into four, even into a dozen. A dozen can turn into a hundred, and having one hundred people in your community gardening, cycling, recycling, composting, reusing shopping bags and living more simply will make your community more pleasant and more livable. Hell, if anything, it will cut down on the fucking noise.
Communities tend to mimic one another. Once a community gets labeled at the cool place to live, it will be copied.
But of course, it all starts with you. With us.
ONWARD