I sold my Prius yesterday.  I just feel I'm too old to drive anymore.

 

A week or so I blew a stop sign at a four way stop.  Luckily there were no cars in the intersection.  I noticed the stop sign out of the corner of my eye as I passed it and it scared me.

 

So, after a week or more of thinking about it, I sold my beloved Prius back to the dealer I bought it from in 2019.

 

It's just one more item to drop from my 'able to do' list.  No more flying, no more wilderness hiking, no more fly fishing and wading streams and rivers, no more sex, no more running a mile and a half a day...a whole lot of no mores.

 

But life here is good.  I continue to enjoy myself even though I've done a 180 in my activities.

 

So weep not for me.  This morning in the community living room several of us were watching William Shatner's "The Unexplained."  The episode was about near death experiences and the after-life.  One person asked what you would like to happen after you die.  My answer was I'd just like to live my current life all over again starting with the third grade.

 

Now if you'll excuse me, Bingo starts in a few minutes.

 

Noel

Driving is way overrated, enjoy your life. If you really need to go somewhere have a fiend or relative take you or get an Uber. Good on you for recognizing when it's time to hang up the keys. Most people don't have the courage to do that.

Thanks for doing that, Noel. Some people in my family are around 90 years old and are still driving. And I get nervous every time they are doing that. I hope I will be as wise as you when I will be in your age.

Peter

5 hours ago, birdguy said:

One person asked what you would like to happen after you die.

Your soul, IE the real "you", will live on, in what form or where I don't know.  This is my belief.

I know it must be scary, but look at it as the next adventure. 

We're all going to be where you are one day.  Anyway, I think that a lot of people will be very surprised after their body dies.

Dave

Dave, someone recently asked me where I would like to go and what I would like to be after I die.  My reply was I would like to go back to the third grade In about 1942 in San Francisco and live my current life over again exactly like it was.

Noel

I used to think that I would like a do-over.  Go back in time and not make the same mistakes, maybe even take a different career path.  I used to think that was a good idea.  Now, I would not mind hitting the "rewind" button and just replay my life, not change anything, just replay it.  I know what I would not want to do and that is to be a child, teenager, or even a young adult today.  Nope!  I grew up without electronic gadgets and social media and I am certain that I am better for it!

Fascinating, as Spock would say.

Living a life with no regrets at all?
I'd like to go back and right all the wrongs I can remember doing. This is one instance where hindsight would absolutely work in my favour; taking it a step further it would also change many of my experiences probably to the point where it would be an entirely different existence. Groundhog day with a twist?

Rinse and repeat until Nirvana is achieved? Who knows.

Good for you Noel.  I think that took a lot of bravery to give up your car.  That's a big deal for any senior.

As for reliving my life, I would do my best not to battle alcoholism for so many years.  That's my biggest personal regret.  Life is better now!  Overall, I feel pretty blessed.  I went from being a high school drop out to completing my masters degree in Physical Therapy.  The best part, I've been married for 30+ years to the most wonderful woman/person I've ever known.

Hi Noel, 

Thanks for those words . It really stuck with me. I admire how honest and grounded you are—it’s not easy to let go of things like driving, especially when they’ve been such a part of your life. But I think it takes real strength to recognize when it’s time.

What you wrote reminded me of something personal. When I was in my 30s, my dad—he was 73—borrowed my car. He ended up in an accident, and sadly, he didn’t make it. That moment changed everything for me. It made me realize how quickly things can shift, and how hard it is to let go of independence.

I liked what you said about the afterlife. Since losing my dad, I’ve often hoped there’s something more. The idea of starting life over from third grade, with everything we’ve learned—that really hit home. I’d take that deal in a heartbeat.

Anyway, I’m glad to hear life is still good, even if it looks different these days. You’ve got a great spirit. Enjoy Bingo—and thanks for sharing your world.

Take care Noel.

I actually enjoy not driving I have done it a few times in my life. I moved to Nova Scotia back in 2005 for a few years and in that time got rid of both driving and computers. The driving lasted a few years and I did go a year without a computer. Nova Scotia you can just walk everywhere and talk to people. I would walk to work every day with daily routines. The place I would stop for morning tea would see me walking and start my order before going through there door. Routines are good.

I moved to New Zealand in 2011 and did the no driving again for about 5 years. I also let my license expire and cycled everywhere in that time. When we were expecting our first daughter I reluctantly got back into driving. I had to do all the driving tests again from the beginning which I thought was hilarious. Made me feel like a teenager again, and in a country with right hand drive last time a drove was Canada which is left hand drive. I passed all the tests easily enough the instructor just noted 2 things, one was I drove a little left of centre , but that’s because I was used to being on the left side of the car not the right, so not used to the car in the other side. The other was not signalling when I went through a roundabout going straight, as you would normally do in other intersection types, but he also said that was common with people from countries without roundabouts. Good to be called out on these things that’s how you learn. It was fun doing that later in life

I did it a third time last year when I was rear ended and my car was written off.  I didn’t go out and buy another car right away I waited about 9 months, and that meant I had to walk my kids too and from school. That’s some of the best quality time with the kids right there. When winter came and it was raining sideways so I finally caved and bought another car. 

i could actually see myself giving up driving easily when a retire and before it’s necessary, I enjoy the car free lifestyle it forces you to interact with people in your routines. I also find the price of taking Uber places is similar enough to the cost of owning and operating a car, and one less thing to take care of

keep well Noel and as active as possible 

21 hours ago, speedyTC said:

Fascinating, as Spock would say.

Living a life with no regrets at all?
I'd like to go back and right all the wrongs I can remember doing. This is one instance where hindsight would absolutely work in my favour; taking it a step further it would also change many of my experiences probably to the point where it would be an entirely different existence. Groundhog day with a twist?

Rinse and repeat until Nirvana is achieved? Who knows.

Oh, I do have regrets, but I have come to realize that if I had not made those mistakes, if I had done things differently, then my future would have changed.  With a different future, I may have made worse mistakes and my life may have been miserable as a result.  

12 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

I actually enjoy not driving I have done it a few times in my life. I moved to Nova Scotia back in 2005 ...

Ha, we must be secret twins. We lived in Sydney (NSW) for 2 years and eventually ended up in Nova Scotia. We did everything with the bicycle until our second child was on her way. I still walk to my job every day; you are right, Nova Scotia is a great place for doing that 🙂

Peter

On 7/25/2025 at 8:26 PM, birdguy said:

Dave, someone recently asked me where I would like to go and what I would like to be after I die.  My reply was I would like to go back to the third grade In about 1942 in San Francisco and live my current life over again exactly like it was.

Noel

But, but, but... how many of those years are years you'll be without a flight simulator and Avsim!??

3 hours ago, bofhlusr said:

But, but, but... how many of those years are years you'll be without a flight simulator and Avsim!??

Many...flight simming was a great hobby, but not the best.  Wilderness camping and hiking and fly fishing and actually flying a real airplane surpass simming.  The priority of flight simming would be below those I listed if asked, "What do you want to do today?"  I would put writing short stories about my life ahead of flight simming also.

While flight simming is no longer a part of my life AVSIM is still an important part.  It is my window to the world since I very seldom listen to or read about world events anymore.  I have a PM partner who fills in that void for me.

Noel

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

fly fishing and actually flying

For me, these two have one thing in common which is why I turned away from them. IMHO, they both have poor ROIs (return on investment in terms of time and treasure). It's the same thing with good or gourmet cooking. One could spend an hour preparing and cooking, and everything you did the previous 60 minutes gets eaten, and it disappears and turns into sh!!t in 10 minutes. 🙂