The Freedom To Change Your Mind
My husband read my previous post on bicycle-commuting yesterday and said that one of his co-workers had just told him that he and his girlfriend decided to bike to the movie theatre instead of drive.
Then this morning Israel said, “You know, someone was just telling me that in Portland the government put a bunch of yellow bikes around the city so that anyone can just grab one and ride it to where ever they’re going, then leave it there for someone else to use.
And I thought, Wow, yet another reason to go visit Portland.
I’ve been dreaming of a vacation to Portland for a long time now.
When his comment drew my positive response he smiled and added, “I remember a time, a number of years back, when you told me about that bike program and you talked about how wasteful the government was to be buying bikes and handing them out for free.”
Suddenly the idea became familiar. That’s right, I did say that!
That was back in my Rush Limbaugh days! Back when Rush’s Word was the other Word of God. Back when I thought that if global warming really was real, it would just be a part of God’s second coming and the destruction of the earth.
Nothing to worry about.
Tackling pollution was not a priority to me. I guess the ability to see the mountains from my home was not a priority, either. And I didn’t realize my son would have asthma, so there’s another effect of pollution that would have meant little to me.
Thank goodness for the freedom to change our minds.
Note: After doing some minimal research, I have found that it was a non-profit organization that started the bike program. It later received government endorsement and the contribution of a warehouse. All bikes, repairs, and other services were a donation. This should provide solace to any conservative readers who may now be raging at the idea of a government-run bike program.
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July 4th, 2006 @ 9:05 pm
Ah, Rush.
Shame about his penile disfunction.
At least now we can guess at where the anger comes from.
July 4th, 2006 @ 11:27 pm
It’s happened to me on a number of occassions that what I waved my fist at once I embrace now - causing those around me to roll their eyes
As a teen I was a huge nature freek and felt that cities were terrible places and that I would never ever live in one. I am now living in the capital city of South Africa, and just love the energy and diversity a city offers!
On the bike program - I’m not sure if its still the case, but for a long time, free bikes were available in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Now there’s a place where ‘the bike as an alternative mode of transport’ has been tried and tested and found succesful!
July 6th, 2006 @ 6:55 am
Noel,
Many large cities have become much more user friendly in recent years. My wife and I also used to love the bucolic life in the country. We are now suburbanites, but given the opportunity would jump at the chance to move downtown either here in Indy or perhaps to Chicago (that toddlin town.)
Indy has taken an old canal which was an eyesore and a source of odor and pollution turning it into a major asset with the development of museums, apartments & condos along its banks. We have a walking/jogging and bike path, the Monon Trail, which spans more than 15 miles.
Chicago is just a great city. Nowhere is there a route comparable to Lakeshore Drive with the city on one side, parks and Lake Michigan on the other running from south to north for miles. The many and varied neighborhoods primarily to the north and west of Chicago proper are wonderful, many with great ethnic influences in shopping and restaurants.
Oh, I like Germany, too. But that’s another story.
I’m back.
TLS
July 6th, 2006 @ 9:13 am
Yay, Terry S. is back! I was about to go hunt you down. I took the math question qualifier off just for you.
Your description of the bike trails in Indiana and Chicago sound really cool.
I’ll be doing some research to see what type of bike organizations we have here. Many of the main roads in my town have nice wide bike lanes. But in some places they just disappear. And I’ve never heard of any bike trails that aren’t away from civilization in the desert. I have never heard of any separate bike trails in Mesa that can actually get you from here to there.
July 7th, 2006 @ 10:15 am
Noell,
Glad to be back. I’ve just been busy, and my computer sank with all hands lost. I made a recent post that might be of interest to you. If you get an opportunity, give it a look.
As to the question qualifier, now I feel like a petulent child who got his way and now feels guilty about it. I just didn’t quite get it at the time. The unfortunate result of not doing the math was that whatever had been written in a comment was irretrievably lost, if you attempted to post, which was rather irritating.
I understand, though, about the spam problem. I would urge you to reinstate the safeguard if it aids you in getting rid of unwanted posts. My recent computer disaster was caused by a virus which ultimately destroyed my operating system. I had to completely reformat and in the process lost around 3 years of my work records. I was not a happy camper.
Is Gregg100 still out there? I lost his URL among a load of other stuff in the process of getting my system operational again.
Hope you and yours are well.
Gosh Speed,
TLS