"No thanks."

At 73, I have never been behind the wheel of a car. I say this with a certain amount of pride because it took some ingenuity to avoid ever learning to drive or needing to drive. I have always lived in cities with public transportation and always worked within commuting distance. And, as a writer, I feel I have met many more interesting people on busses and trains than I ever would have met as a motorist. I admire people who do drive, as I would not be able to deal with the insurance, registering, traffic, gas stations, valet parking, meters, searching for parking spaces, waiting at the DMV or, god forbid, an accident. The idea of exchanging papers and dealing with an insurance company horrifies me. I also take great pride in the amount of money I have saved by not driving and must say I feel somewhat smug when friends complain about their insurance bill or the cost of repairing that dent. Yes, of course, I often depend on friends to drive me somewhere that we're all going, but am happy to pay for the gas, parking or tolls. Also, truth be told, I would be a lousy driver, the kind of driver that makes you say, "That person should be not allowed on the road." I was forever falling over on my bike or getting in other people's way. Plus, if I were ever in an accident where someone was killed or maimed, the guilt would destroy me. So, despite the fact that friends constantly say, "You should learn to drive" there is no a chance in hell I ever will. Especially when I have heard this sentence so often in my life, "I couldn't live without my car."