bike hippies

“Hey, lover.  We were at Trader Joe’s the other day.  And there was this couple, bike hippies–they had a lot of tattoos.  I think they might have had backpacks.  Do you remember them?  I think they were white people,” I said.

“No, I don’t remember them,” he said.

“Well, I was looking at those people.  They made me think of when I was at the co-op in Sacramento.  And there would be someone who came to shop on bike, and they might be wearing their bike helmet and would have a backpack.  I always thought they were cool.  I wanted to be like that–riding a bike, to save a car trip, to love Mother Earth.  Save the air.  And I thought we would be like that.”

Ming was driving, as I sat in the passenger seat.  He was taking in what I was saying.

“I always thought we could get bikes, and we could ride our bikes places.  It’s just a drop in the bucket.  But I thought it would feel good, to make just a tiny difference.  Do you think..one day, could we be bike hippies like that?”

“Yeah!” Ming said.

“A few times we rode over to the Worker.  But only a few times.  I wish we could ride lots of places.”

“We could!  There are just not grocery stores nearby,” Ming said.

worst grocery store

“Yeah, only Fresh & Less.  That’s the worst grocery store I ever saw,” I said.

“Fresh & Less?” Ming asked.

“Fresh & Less.  That place that used to be Buy Low?”

Ming seemed not to know what I was talking about.  I doubted myself, like I had misremembered the name.

“It’s not Fresh & Less anymore,” he said.  “Now it’s some other place.”

“What?” I asked.

“I think it’s a liquor store now,” Ming said.

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Ming said.

“I never saw that!  How long ago did it change?”

“A few month ago,” he said.

“I don’t believe you!” I said.  “When I updated the handout for the Rice Room, you never told me it had a new name.”

“Well, it didn’t matter,” Ming said.

I was surprised because Ming is usually a stickler for accuracy.  “Well, Fresh & Less was bad anyway.  Really, a liquor store?”

conclusion

Let’s be bike hippies.  One day, if we live a place more bikeable, let’s do it.

Let’s help the air be one tiny bit cleaner, to protect the lungs and health of children, babies, elders, teenagers, smokers, non-smokers, immuno-compromised people, asthmatics, homeless people, housed people, and all people.  Also for the health of animals and plants.  Mother Earth deserves all the love we can give.