Letters to the Editor

What You Say

Yes ... But Does It Have Cup Holders?

Sorry to hear about your encounter with the conservation of momentum, and being stalked by ambulance chasers [Editor's Letter, "First Thing We Do Is ... " Brian Howard, Sept. 17, 2009].

Anyway, I regularly make trips to IKEA, the supermarket and Home Depot (and other lumber yards) using a bike trailer. A trailer (or if you're rich and/or have a lot of room, a cargo bike) is the thing that makes going car-free much more possible. I carried four of the full-height Billy shelves on my trailer (actually it was Moira and me on a tandem) powered only by Swedish cafeteria food from the Columbus Boulevard IKEA. No gasoline involved.

I'd be happy to go supermarket shopping with you to show you how easy it is; you can easily get a shopping cartload on my trailer — more, in fact! If you're in Center City, North, South or West Philly there aren't really hills to speak of and stores are within a few miles. Live in Mount Airy? Any place with "mountain" or "hill" in the place name may be less practical, but so is poisoning our pale blue planet and our children's future.

One of my girlfriends was in an accident two weekends ago and she received 27 calls. One "agency" kept calling and harassing her because she requested that the company not contact her again. You hit the nail on the head when you called them vulturous. They have no idea what kind of trauma a person may be experiencing from an accident no matter how harmless it may seem.

I have lived in Philadelphia all my life; this year will not only mark the year I purchase my first car but also the first time I get my driver's license. It took accepting a job out in Fort Washington (where public transit exists but ample roadside lighting is a rare occurrence) for me to consider getting a vehicle.

Next time you guys film naked people riding bikes through Center City, make sure you get more footage of the ladies [The Clog, "Video footage from the Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride," Neal Santos, Sept. 7, 2009]!! Who wants to see pale frumpy guys in thongs, yuck!!