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My New Year started with a bang: someone crashed into my car.
It was sitting there, parked on the street in front of my apartment, minding its own business, when, at some time in the night/early morning of Jan. 3 or so, some clown ran into it. No ice was involved in the making of this wreck, by the way. Alcohol, maybe.
Old Bessie (an Acura Legend) was the real-deal metal car, not some fiberglass mash-up. So whoever hit it damaged their vehicle, because little flecks of glass covered the hood of my car. But the hit knocked my car off its front-end axle. It was totaled. I don’t know who hit it because the offender took off never left a note or a message.
Because I didn’t have the type of insurance that covered the loss, I was carless for several weeks.
Being an independent type, I didn’t want to burden family or friends for a ride as I searched for another car. And why should I? The MAX bus rode right in front of my apartment several times a day, every day. I don’t do much traveling, as I do most of my work by internet and phone. So, whenever I needed to get downtown for a meeting, I rode the bus.
Now, to be honest, nothing yet beats the convenience of a car in terms of getting anywhere you need to go, when you need to get there. But operating a car is expensive – gas, maintenance, tags, insurance, and all.
But after a few weeks, I realized how much money I was saving by NOT using the car. I spent only $1.50 each way to get to where I was going. The DART was even cheaper, just a quarter to go up and down 20th Street. And don’t tell me only a few people ride the bus. It was full every day I got on it. And after it left Central Station, it was standing room only.
Using public transit also made me realize how lazy I was. Since neither the bus nor the DART put me at the front door of every place I needed to be, I had to walk. It was a little tough at first, but I got used to it. My legs certainly look better!
Then I thought about how much money I was wasting by jumping into my car just to go two blocks up the street to pick up my pizza, or pick up items from the CVS store and the corner market, or go to Starbucks to sip coffee while I worked on the internet. I could have been walking the whole time!
This is why Southerners are so obese, I think. People in northern cities with public transportation are used to walking for blocks to reach their destinations.
I have a car now, so I admit I don’t use the bus as much as I could. However, it’s wonderful knowing that option is available when I need it, and even when I don’t. But what about those who do need it because owning a car is cost-prohibitive? And how about folks with cars who could save some money by riding a convenient public transit system that suits their lifestyle?
It has always pained me to see transit get such little public support when it can be such a public benefit, especially as we face $4.00+ per gallon gas and the inevitable price hikes will ripple through the economy. Even a “good job” offers little protection to the income erosion that’s bound to eat into people’s pockets, especially in a very tough recession. Yes, transit has to be subsidized, just like highways and sewer systems and schools. And if more in the public end up paying for it, it has to benefit more of the public, not just “poor people.”
There’s no way this space can cover the pros and cons of the broad and sometimes controversial subject of public transit, especially in Birmingham, where our current system has not worked well for a long time. County Commissioner Sandra Faye Little recently held a community meeting on the topic during the day and 100 folks attended. The Greater Birmingham Ministries sent me information about another meeting next week.
The “Mass Meeting for Mass Transit” will be held 6 p.m. Monday, March 28, at St. Paul United Methodist Church. The meeting will feature updates on new federal funding strategies for transit (including flexible options that allow those funds to be used for operations), perspectives on transit from across the county, and the struggle to win funding from the new state legislature.
If you’re interested in transit and know others who are, please pass this along to them.
vickii
Other Upcoming Events
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Cox Radio personalities Valerie Hicks Powe, Esq., and Isis Jones are hosting a free women’s empowerment conference this Saturday, March 26, at Old Car Heaven (115 35th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35233) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In honor of women’s history month, the Working Women’s Conference – “SOS (Strengthen our Spirits) as We Set Strategies of Success” – will offer seminars about social media (see the last event to know what this is important!). The conference also features topics such as coping with elderly parents and other realities of family life, career-building and financial management.
The event is also scheduled to feature an appearance by the Scott Sisters, Jamie and Gladys, depending on whether they will be allowed to make the trip from Mississippi to Birmingham. The two women were young adults when they were sentenced to life in prison in an $11-robbery, a crime the two said they did not commit. After a lengthy public campaign to free the sisters, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Dec. 30, 2010, finally commuted their sentence after their 16-year incarceration.
You can download this pdf document for more details about the event program and other speakers. For more information, call (205) 443-6678 or visit the website.
POSE: A Tribute to Fashion Photography
 My friends at Urbanham are hosting a multimedia show, POSE, which highlights the craft and contributions of fashion photographers who have influenced global styles and trends.
The show, featuring stylist Ryan Christopher, is set for Sunday, March 27, at the Highland Conference Center in Five Points South. The pre-show reception presented by Gentleman Jack is from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. features complimentary hors d’oeuvres and wine.
The fashion tribute starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15. See Urbanham’s website for more information.
Inaugural Meeting of Social Networking Professionals
 I wish I could tell you to be sure to make the first annual meeting of the Alabama Social Media Association on Wednesday, March 30, at UAB’s Hill Center. But the free event was pretty much filled soon after it was announced.
Social media is now such an important aspect of life in the 21st century that even I broke down and got several Facebook pages, a personal one and one for Birmingham View. Anybody in business nowadays must have both a website and at least one social media outlet.
We’re in the midst of a technological revolution that’s just as powerful as the one that is overthrowing governments. In fact, social media played pivotal roles in the revolutions roiling the Middle East. Traditional conventions no longer fit the new paradigms. The world, it is a changin’ and you’ll want to be part of it.
If you can't make the meeting, you can at least sign up on their email list to receive newsletters from the new organization. I’m sure its members can help you stay on top of things.
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