me and the iguana, originally uploaded by Sequoia Redd.
The tree had lots of monkeys living in it. Then Wilma the Hurricane came and blew it all down. Now the island is ruled by giant iguanas that poop all over the bridge so that no human dare pass. But poop doesn’t scare me. One tried to chase me away today.
So I took a picture with him:
Then I took a picture of him:
Don’t you just love the hideous prehistoric beauty of iguanas?
I am 21 years old and I don’t have a driver’s license.
I chose not to get one when I was 15 because I had a “plan” and I didn’t want to contribute to air pollution. Back then it was just air pollution we were concerned about and the big term of global warming wasn’t thrown around as much (though perhaps it should have been).
My plan was to ride public transportation, ride a bike, walk or any other form of non-polluting action that got you from one place to the next.
But, as anyone will tell you thats ridden the South Florida public transportation system, whether that be the bus or tri-rail and especially in Broward County, its definitely not a reliable form of transport and/or not a very pleasant one.
So, I got a bike around 17 and I rode everywhere I needed to go.
What I can say about both public transport and bike riding is this: you see more.
You see people you would have never ever seen before and sit next to them on the bus: homeless vagrants that end up pissing themselves and everyone has to get off, people that have dreadlocks without trying, black ladies dressed in the finest of church clothes talking to Lincoln, white ladies with tons of plastic bags that hold all of their life’s possessions, old guys that live in their motorized wheelchairs decked out with windmills and American flags…
You smell things when you’re on a bike that would have been normally filtered out through your car’s A/C unit; the acrid stench of a passing garbage truck, the sweet smell of jasmine growing in someone’s garden…
Once you step outside the box of traveling by air conditioned, protected vehicle, you’re exposed. Exposed more to the nitty gritty of life, the street level perception of things. Life in real time.
Public transportation is not for the impatient neither is bike riding. Maybe thats what I value most about it. Traveling in real time. Everyday is a journey, you always see something new, and sometimes even make friends along the way.
I wish more people rode their bike and took the bus once in a while down here. It can be a real eye opener to see where you really live, from the perspective of the street. I think you should have to ride a bicycle and public transport to earn your way to getting a vehicle. See where you really live rather than just skimming over it or zooming by it.
At this point in my life, I’m ready for an upgrade. I want a VW microbus or camper van. Something that can double as a sleeping place in times of need or travel. I’d convert it to bio diesel.
But I’d never give up bike riding. There’s something about traveling to a place with the wind in your hair, heart pumping blood to the rest of your body and moving at the speed of you.
Not just pressing a gas pedal and going but moving with the power of your own body.
Try it out.
Joy Harjo’s Poetic Adventures in the Last World Blog:
Sarah Palin’s Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues
1. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Fishing
Perhaps no issue is of greater importance to Alaska Native peoples as the right to hunt
and fish according to ancient customary and traditional practices, and to carry on the subsistence
way of life for future generations.
Governor Sarah Palin has consistently opposed those rights.
Once in office, Governor Palin decided to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every
subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska. (State of
Alaska v. Norton, 3:05-cv-0158-HRH (D. Ak).) In pressing this case, Palin decided against
using the Attorney General (which usually handles State litigation) and instead continued
contracting with Senator Ted Stevens’ brother-in-law’s law firm (Birch, Horton, Bittner &
Cherot)…read more
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