I Like To Drive

I like to drive. I drive a bright yellow Wrangler Sport Jeep. That means there are no electric windows, no one click to lock or unlock the doors, and when you hit one of Aurora’s many pot holes…well, let’s just say you feel it. This time of year I wear a bikini. Don’t pass out. I should have explained that I take my autumn/winter hard top off of the Jeep (thanks to my son-in-law Brian) and I (Brian really does all of this) put on the late spring/summer bikini top. I like it. I can feel the breeze blow through my hair, hear all and I mean all the sounds urban life has to offer, and smell ALL the different scents of urban life. Big trucks, old cars, and certain models of buses fill the air with the vilest smelling stuff! But that is not all the time; sometimes I drive by the Botanical Gardens just to take in some soul lifting fragrances. Oh the beauty of fragrances from flowers, bushes, and trees.

I like to drive and that can be a problem. There is no news in my saying that driving pollutes the air and my hunch is also the ground and the water. The increased rate of CO2 in the atmosphere is alarming. Since last October each succeeding month has been the hottest month on record. It is a global problem and it feels “global” in that it is bigger than I can imagine or possibly do anything about.

Or is it?

I like to drive. Which means I have found a particular joy in being related to the petroleum industrial complex which fuels my addiction to…convenience. That’s right. I have been addicted to my share and your share of things in my life time and I admit that I am a convenience junkie. I do enjoy driving my Jeep. Today, I cannot tell when the joy of driving is what gets me going or just the convenience of it all. Or is it connected to the constant rush, rush world I have created for myself and therefore justify my need to drive instead of walking, taking the bus, riding the light rail and then walking.

Years ago I came to Aurora, Colorado. I love it here. I have immersed myself in this suburban world which also means I have decided to live with many of you…and we have a problem. There’s too much CO2 being thrown out into the air. It is both a local and a global problem. If you are a Celtic flavored Christian like me then our ecological issues are spiritual ones as well. Reflecting on this issue is important but not enough. I am going to NOT drive my Jeep one day every week. It may not sound like much but it is my “start”. How about you? We are in this together! You, me, the rabbits and squirrels, the trees and the flowers. Look for me on the light rail or the sidewalk!

In gratitude for the gift of this day,

Scott Jenkins