When did my family go from one car to two?

My earliest recollection of life was living in a 1960's era neighborhood in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. It was a small house on Bedford that had a double lot perfect for playing baseball in the backyard... just don't hit the ball to far or you have to go get it. The house had a small driveway that was perfect for one car... which at that point my parents had a single vehicle. That car was a gray Ford Fairmont. When my dad would go to work he didn't take the car, no he rode his bike. I remember him peddling off down the street on his green ten speed. Then for some reason during the next couple of years we moved around a bit... I don't really know but I think we still had a single gray Fairmont. I can remember very clearly when we transitioned from one car to two. It was roughly 3rd grade for me at Wareing Elementary in Taylor, Michigan. We got the news sitting in the sun room of the house that my parents were divorcing. That is the point my dad moved out and bought Volkswagen Scirocco. From that point forward I had in my mind that it was normal for families to have two cars. Which if it the norm for parents get divorced than it is a necessity to have two cars. I don't want to get divorced and I don't want two cars. I want one car and two bicycles.

Guerilla Gardening... I would have never thought...

I found this article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSL292187120080430?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

It is interesting and makes sense to want to make vacant land look better. There are places all over Lynchburg that could use a touch of color and care. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that it is illegal to dig up someones property without their consent - but if your going to plant a nice shrub or flower I don't see what the big deal is.

Carpooling...

Carpooling seems be a great solution to driving alone everyday. Especially, when the workplace has a lot of people that live in the same general area. It's a great way to save on gas and get to know your co-workers. There are a lot of places here in Lynchburg that would benefit in many different ways if they encouraged their employees to ride together. A couple of the benefits are less parking space is required, employees get to know one another, and companies passively encourage their employees to consume less energy. My wife and I have discussed briefly carpooling with people she works with. It doesn't work that well if you think the driver has to pick everyone up from their home, but if everyone met at say a parking lot that was vacant and parked there it would work. Personally, I prefer to ride. However, in the coldest winter months I would definitely carpool. Go carpool. There are plenty of sites that discuss carpooling... just search google.com.

Mass transit... buses...

I have never really thought much about carpooling or mass transit until energy prices began to rise so sharply. In fact, when I thought of mass transit I pictured people that were poor and unable to afford a car of their own. I am seeing the larger picture now... it is much, much less expensive to buy a bus pass than it is to buy a car and pay for all associated costs of owning a car. Doing on quick search on google.com I found the bus company that is located in Lynchburg, VA where I live. http://www.gltconline.com/ I can get a month long pass for $40 and a bike certificate for a one time fee of $3.00. So even if the bus routes don't go all over the city they certainly cover a wide area that is surely enough to get me near where I need to go and then ride my bike the rest of the way.

Our Garden... three buckets.

Carrie and I are preparing to plant our first garden. At this point I think it is going to consist of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. The tomatoes are going to be grown in 3 five gallon buckets so we have more room for other stuff in our space. We have have space beside our deck that is the perfect candidate for a small garden which will hopefully be sufficient for us and a couple of our friends. Our friends would like to teach their children about planting and harvesting from God's creation. I'm looking forward to trying our hand at consuming some of our own vegetables that were grown on our land. Because I have heard it said, "you ain't no kind of man unless you own land." So now we are going to harvest some of the land we own. I'll post pictures as soon as the space is prepared.

What is onefamilyone.com?

With the rise in gas prices people are going to try and drive less, find other means of travel, carpool, or ride a bike. Personally, I choose to ride a bicycle. My wife and I sold our second car earlier this year in favor on one car and two bicycles. It did take some getting used to as from the age of roughly 16 I had my own vehicle to take me wherever I wanted. The benefits of riding a bicycle are many fold. First, we got rid of the expense of owning a second car... no more gas, oil changes, insurance premium, or personal property taxes. Second, it is great exercise riding a bike. During the first 4 months of riding a bike I lost at least a one clothing size. Third, stress relief. When I have a stressful day at work there is nothing better than hopping on my bike and riding 10 miles home. Sometimes I get home and I didn't think a single thought about work the entire time. In fact, most of the time it is really relaxing... except when some idiot honks at me because they have never seen someone commuting by bike to work.

For me and my family it works having one vehicle. It is certainly not the standard, but for a long time families had a single car for parents and kids. I believe it will take some getting used to for most people but once they do it is nice. Looking back to when we had two cars the times I would use the car other than for work was to go to stores I really didn't need to buy anything from anyways.

So, onefamilyonecar.com is a blog environment that explores the life of one family with one car.