the car

Our family never had a car when I was growing up. In 1950, in small towns, there was no need for a car, and no other families,that I recall,had a car. You could walk everywhere in no time flat in Lestock, Saskatchewan, where we lived. The width and length of the town would have been about six stone throws by a husky boy with a good right arm. My mother and I went to Regina with Joe Lucas in his truck to buy our family their first car. It was a year old, 1949 Meteor. For me it was amazing! I never thought of us as "car people". I had never seen my mother drive. That was amazing too. I remember thinking she wouldn't be able to do it. I felt as proud as punch about her that day. She was nervous about being alone on the country roads so took me along for company. I was 16, and in her mind, capable of protecting her. We never, ever felt the lack of having a, car prior to that, I believe. The farmers all had trucks and in big towns some people had cars, but we always had the train to travel on and since my dad was a railroader we had passes. Walking was our principal means of locomotion which is why most of us still are healthy. After we got the car our life didn't really change much, though we could go to the Touchwood Hills to swim in the lakes and pick wild strawberries. We could drive ourselves to Regina to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders. That was about all of the car's usefulness. Nothing changed. The next year I left for University and was car-less for most of the next decade.It didn't seem to matter. The buses were good in Winnipeg! They are always good when cars are scarce. The car has destroyed public transport. I am not afflicted with car love.l