Alright, Subways again.

Ok, once again I have to talk about Subways. I'm sorry. I can't help it. I said before that now is the time to fight hard for public transportation. Now, while everyone is freaked out about gas prices. Now there is something I just don't get. Why people don't value their time and sanity as much as the value their gas money? Gas goes up, and now they have to pay 10 bucks more per fill up than they did a year ago. This causes great stress. Why not the traffic? Day after day. 30 minutes to work and 30 back. Bumper to bumper. Inching forward down the 405 at about 12 mile per hour. I see these people who do this every day. Every so often, when I look up from my newspaper, I look down out of the bus window. I see these people pounding their steering wheels, blowing their horns.

They are miserable. But why doesn't this make them look for alternatives? Why is it only gas prices that make them actually try to find a better way. I value my sanity too much for that.

I also value my car. In theory that is. I don't have one right now. I actually heard a person say today with regard to not taking the bus, "You pay all that money for insurance and car payments that you should use the car." This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You pay all that money for insurance and car payments, that you should put as much wear and tear on it, run up its mileage, devalue it as much as possible. What kind of sense does that make?

I'm not here to tell you that you should all give up your cars. But think for just a moment. If you have a bus or train route to work, take it. If you could just eliminate the car from your work commute, what a difference it would make. You can till drive to the store. To the movies. To pick up your kids. To do anything else. But your work commute is probably pretty easy. Its routine. You go the same time every day, every week. Its easy. You can ride the bus/train. Read a book, the newspaper. On the way home, you can just sit back and close your eyes and relax. And if you did this, you'd save a ton in gas money. Your chances of dying in a car accident (which are much higher than you'd like to know) will go down dramatically, and I'll bet you that you could keep your car for about three times as long before needing to buy another.

Hey, why not just try it once. Its not that hard.

-T