Drivin' My Life Away

In two weeks, I'll celebrate another anniversary as a licensed driver. As much as I wish I could tell you that this is expressed in dog years, the fact is that I have been a licensed driver for 36 years.
So the question comes up since I've been in London: Do you miss driving?
I'm not sure you can draw a fair conclusion in five weeks, but I would have to say that I don't.
Tonight is a good example. I have a cold and in general am feeling fairly lousy. I'm bundled up in warm PJs (pygamas in London) and socks with a hot cup of tea at my side. It's been a rainy day. Keith is out - he has gone with his students to the theater. I would like some soup but I ate the only soup in the house yesterday.
If I were at home, I would pull on some sweats, throw on a raincoat and drive to HT to buy a can of soup. Here, I don't have that option. If I wanted to go out, I would need to bundle up, walk to the bus stop, wait for the bus (at night, up to 30 minutes) or walk the 1.25 miles to Tesco. It's an ordeal. I'll do without.
It won't kill me.
Still, I don't miss driving. I like planning out my route each day - figuring out which bus or subway to take or which path to walk. I see new things every time.
I like buying groceries in small quantities and bringing home just what I need. I don't end up with a pantry full of would-be, changed-our-mind-at-the-last-minute dinners.
Under our building (we're on the fifth floor) there is a 24-hour market - sort of a convenience store. I wouldn't really want to buy food there, but it's convenient for an occasional bottle of water. (Actually, I miss my water cooler back in Charlotte much more than I miss my car.)
Over the past week, I have been keeping my eye on the news from home, especially the gas shortages and lines. In my early days as a driver, we had shortages and could buy gas only on certain days of the week. That was no fun. I don't miss any of that and I am grateful to be somewhere with a tremendous public transportation system that gets me everywhere I want to go with a minimum of fuss and bother. All I have to do is show my Travelcard and go.
After all these years of traveling in London, I am still fascinated by the underground system. To know that I am traveling in 2008 on a system originally built in 1860 is just astounding. I love all the stations - each has a personality and design all its own. Our "home" station, Angel, opened in 1901 and has the longest escalator in Western Europe. And when you get off that escalator, there's still another one to go. That's waaay down.
So, no gas lines for me. I clutch my little Travelcard and say a prayer of thanks that someone back in 1860 had this rather brilliant idea.