All of us experience humbling moments in life when quickly and suddenly, life shows you who is fucking whom from the back with little to no lube. The day after I got my life together and made those adult plans called doctor’s appointments, my brakes went out. They went out while I was driving. They went out while I was driving down a hill in morning rush hour traffic. No brake pressure and having to ride up a long winding hill without knowing how you’re getting back down again just sucks.
Life and gravity in my mentions like Herman Cain.
By all accounts, I handled the incident far too calmly as the story is inevitably met with shock that it didn’t end in an accident or my death. This problem also means two things:
- A tow truck and a couple hundred dollars in repairs or a new car.
- Since I didn’t exactly have the money or the time to have it fixed in time, SEPTA would be my means of transportation for the time being.
I’ve been driving since high school so this feeling of being carless is foreign and uncomfortable. At least there is a decent transit system where I live even if it is SEPTA who still thinks tokens and extra money to cross zones are necessary. An extra $10.00 a week plus the $25.00 for a weekly pass for a two hour commute in the morning via public though? And the evening commute is even longer! At least it’s a viable option.
A funny thing happened though. Despite being physically tired and emotionally weary with such a commute, I’m calmer? People still give me anxiety, but it’s not nearly as pronounced as it used to be. Plus, I’m a bit more comfortable with public transit. I should consider myself lucky that I don’t have to do this every day and remember my car privilege. Sure my anxiety has lessened, but for a non-morning person who is freshly carless, 5 AM is nothing less than barbaric. Goddammit, I miss my car.
*Pedestrian Swag is not mine and refers to a tumblr account managed by this human I know.
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