🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <isisCoq7n1.G54@netcom.com> isis@netcom.com (Mike Cohen) writes:
>If you really want to improve the quality of life here, WHY DON'T YOU ALL
>GET RID OF YOUR CARS? I fail to understand why anyone would actually *enjoy*
>driving and would choose to do so if any other alternatives are available.

First of all, people are different.  I personally fail to understand
why anyone would enjoy the sport of boxing, but obviously, people do.
I can only say that I learned to drive at sixteen, like virtually
all people in Southern California.  Lots of people like it right away.
I didn't.  I was always a very nervous driver.  It was not until I
had been driving for some five years that I began to feel really confident
at the wheel.

Isaac Asimov was notorious for hating to travel, and in particular for
never flying.  He had to learn to drive at a fairly advanced age
(he was in his thirties, I believe), and was sure that he would hate
it.  To his great surprise, he discovered that he loved driving, and
that it became, in fact, his favorite means of transportation.  He
said he loved the feeling of actually being in control of his vehicle.
I think a lot of people who like driving feel the same way.

Personally, I like public transportation AND driving, and I'll take
whichever is most convenient for me.  In the Bay Area, lots of trips
involve both methods.

Now, I'm not saying that Los Angeles couldn't use better public
transportation.  In fact, our family is doing our part for it:  my
father is chief cost engineer on the Green Line light rail project,
as he was for the Blue Line project when that was under construction.
My parents live not far from the eventual terminus of the Red Line
in North Hollywood, and they will very likely use it on occasion.

Ed
ed@wente.llnl.gov