Is a better quality of life to blame? I lived one mile from
grade school and about three miles from JHS and HS in the vast
faceless western suburbs of Chicago. My parents worked long
hours, with four kids, and were often exhausted. Drive us to
school? Don't be nuts.
I usually walked or rode my bike to grade school (yea, ...in bare
feet with snow piled three feet over my head). I took the bus to
HS in the morning and walked/ran back after school. Once a
friend of mine and I were coming home together after a soccer
team meeting when a seemingly parked car came to life and sped
toward us. We ran for the comparable safety of an abandoned rail
corridor now known as the Prairie Path. When you think about the
many hundreds of evenings I walked those three miles alone, many
in darkness, having only one story to tell is a good thing.
When I did take the bus home I had to put up with cigarette smoke
and jerks. I know it makes no sense but I still will only use a
bus if I have to. Oddly, by the time I had reached JHS I had
given up the bike altogether -- I don't think it ever once
occurred to me that I could ride it to school. I think it had
something to do with trying to wear nicer clothes.
It's probably also true that we allow our kids to take fewer
risks in general. When I was home from college I noticed that my
younger sister was often driven to HS. She did something I
wouldn't -- she asked. If I had kids, I bet I'd be driving them
to school if I could and they asked. Then I'd drive home, park
the car, and bike to work. Heresy but true.
Joe
--
Joseph King
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
bombay: www.BombayBicycle.org
madnorski: www.MadNorSki.org
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