wheels

Every morning I climb into a 2000 Dodge Dakota with a bit of rust and 170,000 or so miles and I think of Kim and Karen. They may never know the full extent of our gratitude. It's easy to take wheels for granted, but not something Kathy and I are likely to do again. We have a new appreciation for how challenging life can be without an affordable means to get from here to there.

This is the first truck we've owned. We didn't choose it. It doesn't get nearly the mpg of the Prius or Volt we fantasize about owning. But, we love it! In the weeks between the death of our last vehicle and the gift of the Dakota, we tasted again the bitter reality of life without wheels. How do you get the 15 miles to work and back or even the four miles to the grocery store? What if you need to get to a doctor or register to vote or; in some states, run around to get a valid ID to prove that you can continue voting (like you have in the last ten federal elections)? What if your county has no public transit (not even a taxi, which you couldn't afford anyway)? What if you're on your ninth job interview and they keep getting farther from home? What if you don't have a social network that includes friends like Karen and Kim, who have the connections, heart, grace, and initiative to find a vehicle and give it to you? We love our Dakota!

A few days after picking it up, Kathy found out a new friend needed a ride to a dental appointment. Good thing these two women have a sense of humor. It turned into an all day drama. This new friend really needs teeth pulled, but after hours and hours of runaround, the outcome was medicine to make the pain bearable -hopefully - until she can come up with the $120 or so per tooth to have them pulled. Those of us with dental plans will have the same teeth, with the same issues, repaired; not ripped out. But, that's a different blog. By the time Kathy dropped off her new friend, the blessing of wheels was even more deeply seared into her soul and conscience. Mine too. Every day, this sister chooses what she can live without (little things like eating or seeing her kids) because she has no affordable access to transportation.

I know there are brilliant solutions and, if we put our heads together, we can make it happen. Here's a place to spill your ideas. They don't have to be fully developed. In the meantime, hallelujah for our 12-year-old Dakota and for whatever wheels are working for you. And, thanks K2, you are gentlepersons of the highest degree.