[Boomer]

Here on TOTV, every once in awhile, topics turn to the accidents and near-accidents there in TV. Golf carts and cars can be a dangerous and even deadly mix. There is a lot of confusion in the roundabouts it seems. And you are always going to have those drivers with short fuses and a sense of entitlement like everywhere else.

My guess is that there is another contributory factor to those driving problems in TV. And that factor may be in a larger percentage than it is elsewhere.

I know that many here have already faced those circumstances in life where the child must become the parent and the parent must become the child. There is nothing easy about doing that, from either perspective.

I wrote somewhere once in one of these threads about the real struggle we had with Mr. Boomer's dear father and the Oldsmobile keys.

Mr. Boomer, Sr. was strongly independent and his mind was sharp, but his body was betraying him. Throw in that old saying that we use in our family, "You can always tell a German, but you can't tell him much," and it will give you some idea of what we went through. And I know that so many of you can relate.

He had some vision problems that had developed that he neglected to tell anybody about right away.

When we found out, the first question was, "Why are you still driving?"

His answer to us, "I can see shapes."

Well, the vision problem was corrected and so he kept driving.

But then he developed peripheral neuropathy. That is a condition that diabetics can develop and it can cause them to lose feeling in their feet. There were times when he could not distinguish the brake pedal from the gas pedal. And there were accidents. One involved the wall between the garage and the house. No one was sitting on the family room couch at the time or the accident could have been deadly.

The car keys are a symbol of freedom, whether we are 16 or 85. When I first got mine, I found many reasons to carry that key ring in my hand, swinging it around for the world to see. (You know you did, too.)

To have to take the freedom of the car keys away is not fun.

And I am afraid that the perception of driving a golf cart is that you can just do it forever, whether you can feel your feet or see just should make no difference whatsoever. And my guess is that fewer adult kids think about or want to think about wrestling for the golf cart keys.

So please watch out for each other there in TV. Because my guess is that when the kids visit, they are not coming to wrestle for the keys. They are there to have fun, too.

Boomer

[Sidney Lanier]

Have heard that expression before but not in relation to Germans: "You can always tell an alcoholic--but you can't tell him or her much...." I guess it's general enough to fit whoever you want to fill in the blank. Remember when 'ethnic jokes,' offensive as they were, were so popular? Some thought that substituting 'EPC' for a specific ('ethnic person of choice') made them acceptable. Yuck!

The problem with taking away the car keys is pretty endemic, though, sure, it must be more prevalent in a community like ours with its preponderance of old folk like me. I went through a period of blindness for three years (1989-92), and I know that I drove my car longer than I probably should have, even with amazing corrective lenses with a built-in telescope that were first available then from Corning and must be even better now. Living in a rural area made it even harder to give up driving. But even so I eventually had to come to terms with being a passenger (and discovered that I loved it!). Miraculous surgery in May of 1992 restored my eyesight and I went back to driving, hopefully more sensibly.

However, to this day I don't drive at night, not because I cannot but because somewhere along the way I learned to be smart about it. What I DID discover, however, is that I see well enough to drive a golf cart at night comfortably! What makes the difference? Mainly two things, one general and one specific to me: First, golf carts drive so much slower than cars; at a maximum of 19 mph I have found no problem seeing what I need to to get around safely. And second, though our cart has excellent halogen headlights, we had it retrofitted with an additional pair of lights close to the ground where they will not interfere with the drivers of carts going in the opposite direction AND they give me even better visibility than just the headlights alone. Anyone who is beginning to experience difficulty driving his or her cart at night should consider this relatively inexpensive and yet significantly important safety consideration of extra lights. I can offer specific details of who did it and how it was done if anyone is interested.

[sandybill2]

I have an 89 (90 this yr) old father-in-law who has been legally blind with macular degeneration for about 5-6 years now. Giving up driving and having to depend on his wife for transportation has been very hard on him. He wanted to come to the Villages because I think he was under the impression that he could drive a golf cart and regain some independence. We brought him down last May (From Va.) but he realized that this would not be the answer for him. I don't think he realized how vast the Villages are and that you still need to be able to read signs, etc., in order to get around safely. Needless to say, they did not move here but my husband and I decided we would. We officially moved in Nov 1 and Love it here. Hopefully we will realize when it is time for us to stop driving--automobile or golf cart. Love the TOTV and have enjoyed reading all the posts since I found this site--very informative and entertaining.

[schotzyb]

I can relate to problem of being visually impaired. I injured my right eye at the ripe old age of six years old but had no problems with it until I developed a cataract on it at only 40 years old.Cataract surgery in the early 70's was not like it is today. My eye doctor was not familar with the lens implants since they were very new at the time. He insisted on a "hard" contact and this was very painful and ineffective so i just went without it.Still had one good eye but then , yes you guessed it; I developed a cataract on the left eye. Needless to say, I did some research and found another doctor that did believe in implants. Had that surgery over 20 years ago and have 20-20 vision it it. Not so good on the right eye; on the way to work one day I took a sneezing spell and detached and tore the retina in many pieces.Doctor said it had been weakened by the original cataract surgery. A "butcher job" is what I believe he called it. So to make a long story short, I have very litle vision in that eye.No one will have to beg me for my keys though. I had rather do hard labor for 8 hours rather than drive that long.

[Boomer]

Thank you Sidney, sandybill2, and schotzyb for sharing your posts which illustrate such wisdom in difficult circumstances. I wish everyone were as wise.

Boomer

[renielarson]

Sidney

Are your additional lights similar to fog lights? I see better in daylight than at night so am interested in the additional lighting. Can you give me more information about where you bought them and had them installed?

[Sidney Lanier]

Boomer, thanks for your kind words! The trick is to remember to make lemonade when handed lemons, and that the glass is half full and not half empty....

Brightspot01, we use All About Carts (Karl is the owner; Nancy, who lives in TV, is the person you talk to when you phone at 352-409-2702). Karl or one of his employees works on your cart in your driveway, has a list of services with prices for each, and we are impressed with his attention to detail.

He refers to the lights as 'auxiliary headlights' but, yes, they do look like fog lights, and the pair cost $79 + tax installed and made a world of difference for me. What I had found was that I felt comfortable driving in the golf cart lanes on main roads like Belvedere Blvd. and Churchill Downs with just the headlights, but when I would go onto a side street, I realized that I really needed the additional lighting.

He did all the basic service on the cart which the previous owners had not maintained; fortunately we had paid so little for the cart that we simply accepted it. And he also converted the cart from a two-seater to a four and added seat belts (that long thread...) and a second rearview mirror. Highly recommend Karl; if you do use him, please mention us from Abbeville Loop; I'm sure he'll remember us!