Red, White,
and a Cigar
For Eleanor Martin, driving meant many things. Freedom, trust, a much-needed break, and feeling cared for. Eleanor started driving when she was a teenager. She remembers her father teaching her to drive his stick-shift truck and getting to cruise around with her friends after school once getting her license. As she got older, got married and had two kids, she would drive up to Skyline Boulevard when life got overwhelming and watched the lights illuminating from the mid-peninsula.
“It was close by, and it gave me the feeling of getting away and thinking things over, and then coming back, and things were okay. It was a break,” she said.
Eleanor’s vision started to decline about 20 years ago. It wasn’t long after that she could not pass the vision test when renewing her license.
“They tried really hard, they gave me the eye test and I couldn’t do it… then they took me to this machine that you looked in, and you’re supposed to read it and I still couldn’t do it,” she said.
Changes in your vision as you age are normal. The American Optometric Association reports that adults start to develop vision problems in their mid-forties. There is also a higher risk of vision decline if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. The National Institute on Aging recommends practicing healthy habits to slow the progression of vision loss. Protecting your eyes from the sun with sunglasses or a hat, stopping smoking, staying physically active and managing your weight, and taking frequent breaks if staring at a computer for too long can help manage declining vision.
Eleanor did not leave the DMV with a renewed license that day. She managed well because of her husband, Paul, who drove her everywhere. They were married for 42 years. Every few months, they’d drive to Reno. He’d handle the luggage; she’d stop at the smoke shop and grab the biggest cigar for him. She’d hand it over, he’d light it, put on music from the ’30s, and cruise them home. The image of him smoking behind the wheel of his white town car with red leather seats and her on the passenger side is one she cherishes.
As time went on, those kinds of trips happened fewer until they had to stop. Paul developed Lou Gehrig’s disease. Eleanor cared for him in their home until he passed away over a year later.
“When he was gone, I lost all my power. I don’t feel whole. I feel that I can’t do certain things because he’s not there with me… I’m lost… my anchor is gone,” she said.
When going through hard times, Eleanor would read William Ernest Hensley’s poem Invictus. She made 10 copies and keeps them close by to remind her of her strength. It pushed her to keep going and not stay stuck in sorrow and grief. A year after Paul’s death, Eleanor got in touch with RIDE PVI. A service she utilizes multiple times a month to get her to doctor’s appointments, the dentist, and grocery store.
“They have never let me down. I used to stay up at night wondering how I was going to get places. RIDE PVI takes all that stress away and makes things more comfortable and I feel good about going places. Sometimes they come so quickly I don’t even have my shoes on yet!”
RIDE PVI has been serving the peninsula’s older adults since 2016, providing 750-900 subsidized rides per month. They have supported many in the community to continue their independent lifestyle and age in place at an affordable or no-cost rate. However, in these last two months, RIDE PVI has hit a roadblock in funding. Eligible riders experienced a decrease in fully subsidized one-way rides from 10 to six in June. It was expected that this would be a temporary adjustment; however, for July and August the amount reduced again to only fully cover four one-way rides per rider.
The recent changes haven’t eroded Eleanor’s trust in RIDE PVI.
“Even though they might raise the rate for me, I think it’s still worth it.”
Eleanor is not alone in this sentiment; however, this disrupts many riders’ plans to get where they need to go independently. Just $10 can help cover a ride to the grocery store for a senior.