Ditching The Car 

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"What?" you say.  "Walk instead of drive?"

"That's right," I answer.  "Give it a try.  It's kind of fun."

So I'm sitting in my Global Education and Social Justice class, learning about how shitty the world is these days.  According to my course pack, we are in big trouble.  I didn't need a course pack to know that, but I thought I'd mention it to make my argument seem more legitimate.  Course packs are filled with articles by researchers, peer reviewed, and all that.  So yah, the earth is in trouble.

Anyways, I'm reading like, the twentieth article about world shittyness, and I start to feel a bit helpless.  That's not right!  I'm a student!  I should feel like I'm going to save the world.  But here I am, feeling helpless, and perhaps a bit hopeless.  I stop reading the article and eat some chocolate ice cream.

The next day, I go back to school and see all these other students saving the world from cancer and animal abuse and herpes, and I think, "hey, perhaps I could do something."  Usually when I have that thought, I buy organic 100% post consumer recycled toilet paper, but this time I had an idea...

Two years ago I was backpacking through South America.  While in a Salvador hostel, I met this guy from Turkey.  His name was John, except it was spelled something like "Can" which I thought was neat.  He was a grumpy looking fellow, the kind of guy who doesn't smile.  Ever.

So, as you can probably guess, I didn't really want to hang out with him.  But we were both going to the same beach, so hey, let's take the bus together. 

After I got to know him, I realized that he wasn't so bad.  He still didn't smile, but I could tell that he was very smart.  I got the feeling that he had read every book ever existing, especially the classics.  When he asked me what kind of books I liked to read, I started explaining the plot of "The Undomesticated Goddess".  He hadn't read that one, but I digress.

He told me something, on that sandy Salvador beach, that I'll never forget.  I don't remember how the subject came up but he said, "Oh I'm never going to own a car.  I don't believe in them.  Everyone in the world is talking about how terrible they are for the environment, and yet they all still drive.  The answer is simple; don't drive." 

What?  Don't drive!  Why that's crazy.  I'm from Alberta, and cars are a way of life there.  The thought of "not owning a car" had never before crossed my mind.  You drive everywhere, you practically have to; everything is spread out so widely it takes 10 hours to drive across the city of Calgary (okay that's a lie, but it feels like 10 hours).

But, nonetheless, Can's idea stayed with me. 

I don't own a car.  I walk everywhere, in all weather, and I like it. 

I think cars smell funny.  I hate how loud they are.  I hate the idea that you can accidentally kill someone with one.  I don't like looking at cat guts.  They pollute.  They need lots of concrete.  They cost a lot of money.  The list goes on. 

Why can't people come up with better transportation solutions then cars?  Perhaps it's because people rarely question them.  They have become big, smelly, dangerous extensions of our bodies. 

Therefore, I've created this website to share the joys of walking.  I'm hoping I can inspire people to drive less and walk more.  I believe you can get everywhere you need to go using your two feet and public transportation.  Perhaps it's not as convenient, but man, it can be done!