Marylaine Block

Marylaine Block's "Carless and Carfree" column from September 1996. Note she raised a son carfree. I copied it here to format it a bit better:

vol. 2, #10, September, 1996 CARLESS AND CAREFREE

You could think of me as a unicorn--you know, one of those phantasmagoric creatures that maybe once existed, but certainly hasn't been sighted for centuries. One of those legendary animals our ancestors used to sit around the campfire telling tall tales about.

At least I'm the next best thing--an American adult without a car.

Those of you dwelling in large urban areas with excellent public transportation may not understand this as a freakish lifestyle choice, but it is, oh, indeed, it is.

This choice was not a statement of anti-materialist ideology. It was made very simply because I had enough money to have any two of three things--I could have a house and a car, a child and a car, or a child and a house. Since I already had the child, it wasn't a difficult decision.

It was, however, a thoroughly unAmerican decision. If it ever seems to you that I kind of stand off to the side of our culture, observing it rather than wholly participating in it, living without a car in America is part of the reason. Behavior that cars encourage or enforce, that other Americans take for granted, seem to me every bit as curious as the behavior of the Cargo Cult.

For the rest, follow the link below

Added by colin #442 on 2004-05-20. Last modified 2004-05-20 17:51. F0 License: Attribution
Location: World, United States, Iowa, Davenport
Topics: philosophy, women