the_rck | (no subject)

Cordelia's missed class is happening this morning from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. She and I got up at 5:30. Scott got up a bit after 6:00. I'm not sure if he's coming back here during the class or going to get himself some breakfast. He hasn't showered yet, so he might come back here for that.

The buses don't run today, so Cordelia can't get herself home after class. The walk would take a couple of hours and not be utterly impossible, but it's July and therefore hot and humid and nasty.

They did the written test last night. Cordelia's certain she didn't do well. I think we'll find out this morning. She gets a single retest as part of the class fee, so it would be a PITA if she didn't pass, but it wouldn't be the end of the world.

We have no plans for today (we'll spend Sunday with Scott's parents). I suspect that Scott's going to nap after he gets Cordelia home. I need to write and finish a thing that's due this evening. I would like to do some cooking this morning before it gets hot enough that I can't bear being in the kitchen. Last night, I couldn't manage more than about two minutes in there at a time-- long enough to fill my water bottle but not much more.

That made getting food very, very challenging. I wanted to cook chicken livers, but setting that up takes about ten minutes. I don't think I'd have stayed upright. This whole heat intolerance thing is pretty terrible in terms of limiting my life. If it's over 85F in the kitchen, I'd be surprised, and we've got a dehumidifier running constantly, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The buses don't run at all? That's messed up. How do people get to work?

85F is hot. I'd be miserable, too. I hate cooking in the summertime. We eat salads. Sandwiches. I use my crockpot, too.

Given that we're in Michigan, it's actually a wonder that we have a bus system at all. A lot of towns our size in Michigan don't because of the idea that mass transit undermines the auto industry. This is no longer such a big political stick, but it's got very, very deep roots here, especially in this part of the state.

There are several holidays when the buses just don't run, maybe as many as half a dozen of them. The assumption is that most businesses will be closed those days and that anyone who absolutely has to get to work will find another way.

So no bus service on the 4th of July. None on Christmas or on New Year's Day. I think Labor Day and Memorial Day also have no service, but I'd have to look at the bus company's website to check. (I'm not coming up with a sixth holiday that seems likely for no service, so perhaps it's only five days when they don't run.)

LA is the very definition of car culture but we do have buses, trains, and a subway. And they do run every day, though they have a holiday schedule. But most retail businesses stay open here on holidays, as do restaurants and amusement parks. Movie theaters are open. Government offices close--but not essential services. Corporate offices close. Banks.

Thanksgiving Day should be a holiday in Michigan?

I was forgetting Thanksgiving!

It's not so much that Michigan has car culture as that, for decades, making cars was the biggest business in the state. A lot of state politics were more like company town politics during the time when cities could have been putting bus systems or other modes of mass transportation. It was particularly a thing in the Detroit area since that's where the car factories were (and some still are).

There's a lot of inertia in the laws and politics, even the local politics. The auto industry having shifted away from Michigan doesn't change the long fear that mass transit means unemployment. We've still got people utterly terrified of unions, too, because they believe that unions destroyed the state's economy by selfishly wrecking the big three auto companies.