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The last car I owned was in 1991. In those 33 years, I very rarely if ever missed having a vehicle. I found that walking, transit, taxis, helpful friends, and the occasional rental were more than adequate for my needs. And even though the reason I gave up my car was because I hated having to deal with looking after it, and driving around in circles looking for parking, I reckon I have also saved untold thousands of dollars on car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance and parking.
In 2021 and 2022, I realized that I was almost housebound because I could no longer walk very far. Taxis and Evo Cars are fine to a point, but if I have to visit several shops or services the walk between was too much for me. Therefore, last March I purchased a mobility scooter; and it changed my life. The scooter enabled me to go up and down the Drive, shopping wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. I could decide on a whim to visit the corner store or visit the library — something I had not been able to do for a couple of years.
About 10 days ago, my scooter broke down (faulty ignition wiring) and it took me almost that long to get it fixed. In the previous 33 years I had not missed my car once, but in those 10 days I have been desolate without my scooter. It was like losing a close friend.
Today the repaired scooter was returned to me (thanks Scooter City!) and I was overjoyed. It was a gloriously bright sunny day and I managed to go up and down the Drive, pop over to Clark for lunch, and then back to Victoria Drive for more shopping.
Life is good when you are not missing mobility.
Posted by jakking 
Jak's View of Vancouver v.3 