Living Car Free - Going back to car-lite :(

My brother and I managed to be car-free for about ten months (though I sold my truck over a year ago), but yesterday we purchased a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback. Back in February he developed asthma and has been having a lot of trouble riding to work in this god-awful heat and humidity. So, at least for Summer, he'll be using it to drive to work. And I'm sure I'll use it occasionally, as well, though of course I'll still be riding to work and for errands. But I'm glad we were able to purchase a small, extremely fuel efficient car, if we must have a car. And to be honest, being car free in Middle Tennessee is quite difficult. There's the lack of public transportation, cycling infrastructure, sidewalks, the miserably hot summers, and of course, the insane motorists. But we did it for a while, with reasonable success. And ironically, we've finally moved into the house we've been remodeling for so long, which is in a much more convenient location for car free people. When I first stumbled upon this forum I remember thinking, "Wow, I wonder if I could ever do without a car? That would be nice." Well, I did do it, and I feel it was quite an accomplishment considering my location. :) Hopefully I'll be car free again someday, but maybe once I can move to a better city. It was kind of a sad moment for me yesterday, when I signed my name on that title, but around here I'll still be thoroughly considered a weirdo for not owning at least one pickup. :twitchy: I have to be honest, the car is actually pretty fun to drive. :o

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/lamplightsg/0712091604a.jpg

At least you picked the right tool for the job. I know of some people who would have bought an old 4x4 Durango instead.

As far as the heat and humidity, if you're talking about the Memphis area, I'll buy it. Did a road trip this past weekend from OK to Lebanon TN (exit 238 on I-40) and back, stopping in Jackson TN (exit 80A) for the night on Sat. You have a beautiful state there.

That's a bummer, lamplight. But maybe you won't have to move to be carfree again. Maybe your town will come to its senses and extablish some public transit and/or infrastructure.

My sister had a little Honda like that--two actually (consecutively). She always loved it. She had a lot of bumper stickers on it including one that said "I brake for trees." I called it the hippie-mobile.

Read this book "Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty!". It shows that asthma can be cured by rehydrating the body. In the book is a $10,000.00 challenge to anyone with asthma. If they follow the simple protocol in this book for a month and don't get rid of their asthma then the author will give them $10,000.00.

Many people with asthma get rid of all of their symptoms by just eliminating dairy products from their diets. It takes a little more than a month for that to fully take effect.

In 1990 I bought a basic Honda Civic just like that one. It was a great car. It was put together better than my 2007 Honda Fit Sport. I had it for more than a year. I sold it to save money and just share a car with my mother. I was beginning to see the wisdom of having fewer cars draining my bank account back then.

You have a beautiful state there.

Thanks! :) It is very pretty in places, just too hot for me.


That's a bummer, lamplight. But maybe you won't have to move to be carfree again. Maybe your town will come to its senses and extablish some public transit and/or infrastructure.
That would be awfully nice, but I'd probably still try to leave due to the weather.

Read this book "Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty!". It shows that asthma can be cured by rehydrating the body. In the book is a $10,000.00 challenge to anyone with asthma. If they follow the simple protocol in this book for a month and don't get rid of their asthma then the author will give them $10,000.00.

Many people with asthma get rid of all of their symptoms by just eliminating dairy products from their diets. It takes a little more than a month for that to fully take effect.

In 1990 I bought a basic Honda Civic just like that one. It was a great car. It was put together better than my 2007 Honda Fit Sport. I had it for more than a year. I sold it to save money and just share a car with my mother. I was beginning to see the wisdom of having fewer cars draining my bank account back then.

Thanks for the advice! :thumb: He's noticed lately that he's not sweating as much as he should considering the temperatures. I wonder if he's not getting enough water?

I had another Civic just like this one, and an '89 CRX, and those were the two best cars I ever owned, no question. That was a great design.

Read this book "Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty!". It shows that asthma can be cured by rehydrating the body. In the book is a $10,000.00 challenge to anyone with asthma. If they follow the simple protocol in this book for a month and don't get rid of their asthma then the author will give them $10,000.00.

Many people with asthma get rid of all of their symptoms by just eliminating dairy products from their diets. It takes a little more than a month for that to fully take effect.

Um... admittedly, most asthmatics *are* mild, and with proper training they don't need a ton of drugs to control their symptoms. And mostly, they don't get the training (I did, but being a mild who can't have albuterol and is in a family full of severes kinda ensures it). But not all asthmatics are mild, and someone with severe asthma can die if they don't follow their drug regimen. It is very hard to function with less than 70% of your normal lung capacity. Lungs are important. We need them to work.

Dairy is not a trigger for the vast majority of asthmatics, and eliminating it from your diet when it's not a trigger just makes a calcium deficiency more likely.

@Lamplight: If you and your brother don't have a peak flow meter, bug the doctor for one and lessons in how to use it. Just like a diabetic needs to test their blood sugar to make sure their body works right, an asthmatic needs to monitor their lung capacity. The more random testing you *both* do, the better. Since you're closely related, his maximum lung capacity will be more like yours than like the averages doctors use when they don't have a patient's baseline. So if your lung capacity is below average, his is more likely to be there as well... if yours is about 120% of average, he is more likely to be above average as well. If he's testing around 90% and you test 120%... all of a sudden his lungs look a lot worse.

Rescue drugs should show an effect on his lung capacity within 15-30 minutes. Maintenance drugs should show an effect within a week or so. Non-drug treatments (learning to deal with the panic, breathing exercises, proper hydration) will take 15-60 minutes to kick in.

Asthma has a bit of a genetic component, so you've got a bit more risk of developing symptoms... but it's not all genetic. If it were, I'd be in deep trouble :D. Parents are both moderate to severe, sister is severe, brother is moderate... and then there's me, so mild I can get by with almost no drugs. All three of us kids are car-free, so once your brother's asthma is under control, odds are he won't need the car anymore.

Thanks for the additional info, Torrilin. :thumb: I think I'll direct my brother to this thread.