Carless in Missoula

For those of you who don't know, I love my car, Damsel. I have looked several times over the years of replacing her, well I couldn't bring myself to replace her. I know she is getting old and it's starting to show and some days I felt it was a miracle that she was still here for me. Well 9/29/07 I got rear ended in her. I got some whiplash but recovered nicely. You had to look pretty hard to tell that she was damaged, the other car just pushed her hitch in a bit. I kinda felt bad, we called the police to do a report and the kid was arrested on the spot for a warrant out on him. Wow that just made my day a whole lot better. yeah so life returned to normal for the most part. Then my friend dropped a bombshell one day that she put in her 2 week notice and was moving to Idaho just completely out of the blue. I was totally bummed out already about some other things and this just added to it. (11/5/07) I was driving home after a long day of giving massages and got hit at an uncontrolled intersection 3 houses from mine. He spun me out pretty hard and gave me a flat tire. It was a completely horrible event that only I could possibly make more complicated. I had to walk home for the insurance card and then back to the house for a tire iron (mine disappeared somehow in the accident) and then again for the keys that I left there the first trip for the card. My spare was slightly flat so we wobbled the rest of the way home. We got that fixed and it still wobbled, apparently he bent my rear axle. The upstairs kid thought his cousin could get me a part for cheap, so I waited for him to get back to me, he hasn't yet. (remember Damsel's not young anymore and putting a lot of money into her would be foolish!) Yeah, so I rode my bike to work and that was okay. Then it snowed and it stayed, then it got blasted cold. I biked to work at 5 degrees F. I started walking because bikes and ice don't mix. I have learned the bus routes and times quite well. Unfortunately they don't run at 5am when I need to get to work. Now I have a second insurance claim to deal with and I am not good with paperwork whatsoever. It's been a long month. So Jen's comment about her Mom's story of bus riding and shopping and being absolutely sure that you want your purchase really hit home! It's a lot more trouble to return stuff when you only have the bus to rely on. It made me laugh cuz it's so true. I am not sure what lesson I am going to take away from this interesting time in my life but that just one of them. I am not upset that I have to walk, just that it happened at this time of the year. I have to tell ya, we are usually lucky to have snow that stays by Christmas, Nov snow is pretty rare, why this year when I happen to be carless? I guess I can't complain, it forces me to exercise when I probably would find lots of excuses to get out of it. I am going to be in my bro's wedding this coming June and shedding a few pounds would be great! I debate every day in my head the benefits of having or not having a car. The new year is only a month away, I think I'll wait till then. If I do start my massage business then I could write it off and that would be a good deal for me. And dress fitting is coming too soon after holiday treats! besides who can afford gas prices? I am content to walk in solitude during the peaceful darkness that proceeds sunrise. So pip pip cheerio and on we go through wind, snow and ice covered sidewalks.