Cars: can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. I mean, you can live without them, obviously. It’s not like they’re part of our breathing apparatus or anything. In fact, there’s a good argument that we’d breathe easier without cars and their noxious fumes, not to mention their cortisol spike-inducing running costs. In all likelihood, cars actively knock years off our lifespans.
They’re so darned convenient, though. In weighing up the pros and cons, that’s a matter that can’t simply be swept under the rug. Whether or not that convenience is good for our health is another question, but the fact remains that it’s been easier for us to get around since the advent of motor vehicles. On balance, what’s a few bucket loads of carbon emissions and a few more hours being sedentary to not having to walk for hours to get to work or school or to visit your grandmother out in the ‘burbs?
I’m at the point of not being too fazed by the constant stream of expenses for my 4WD. I just feel blessed that there’s a great diesel mechanic near Hobart who can get my machine rolling whenever it threatens to break down – which, really, is not that often. Whatever inconvenience is involved in maintaining it is easily balanced out by the fact that I have my own personal pod to shuttle about in.
My air con has been on the blink, but getting a car air conditioning regas close to Hobart is such a simple undertaking that it’s hardly worth thinking about the cost. Every time I have to shell out for something like that, I just feel grateful to have a climate controlled environment to travel in. That said, I sometimes wonder if luxuries like that are making me (and everyone else) a bit soft. That’s another downside, I suppose. Maybe the ‘can’t live with or without them’ adage is actually onto something, in addition to being a great throwaway line.