Vans and Owls

Lately, I've Been Thinking — a solo series from Have I Told You Lately

Welcome to a new kind of episode of Have I Told You Lately! Doug's not here for this one — Ian's flying solo to kick off "Lately I've Been Thinking," where he takes one story from his life and follows it until it teaches him something.

This time it's about a minivan. Not a cool one — no Mustang, no lifted truck, just a Toronto family's "second apartment on wheels" that got sold so they could spend a year car-free. Ian gets into what it's like cleaning out a van full of a decade of fatherhood (mystery socks, old fries, a toy nobody remembers losing), what a car quietly does to your sense of identity and protection as a man, and how the street treats you differently depending on whether you're inside a car or out in the world on a bike, a bus, or your own two feet. Somewhere in there: owls. Actual owls.

It's not a "cars are bad" episode. It's a "we stepped outside the default for a year and it changed how we move through the city" episode. Doug and Ian will be back together at the end of the month — until then, enjoy the solo ride.

Keywords: urban planning, car-free, community, city streets, transportation, personal growth, urban life, mobility, city design, lifestyle change

Key Topics:

• The influence of cars on personal identity and city design
• The emotional and social significance of vehicles
• The impact of default transportation choices on urban life
• The benefits and challenges of living car-free for a year
• How walking and public transit foster community and awareness

Guest: None — solo episode

Sound Bites:

• "Convenience doesn't feel like control — until you realize it's been choosing for you."
• "The car wasn't just moving my family around. It was making our decisions."
• "When you see differently, you start to live differently."

Chapters:

• 00:00 — Introduction to a Solo Journey
• 02:27 — The Minivan Experience
• 07:01 — The Complexity of Car Ownership
• 11:48 — Identity and Public Space
• 16:36 — Discovering the City Without a Car
• 20:39 — Reflections on Convenience and Connection
• 27:08 — Outro

Resources:

• Not Just Bikes (YouTube) — https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustBikes
• CityNerd (YouTube) — https://www.youtube.com/@CityNerd
• The War on Cars (podcast) — https://thewaroncars.org
• Wheel and Beyond (Ben Durham) — https://youtu.be/CT642kdP74o?si=lTwVM8cnXQoZ62pP