Vehicles versus Traditions

Brandy McMullen
Professors Smith and Wells-Edwards
English 101D OL1
February 24, 2011

Vehicles versus Traditions

Innovations come in many shapes and sizes. Some are round, some are square, some are small, some, are big, some are small, and some are a mixture of all of them. Some innovations are good but like any good thing, bad can come out of it as well. Vehicles are one of those innovations that help and hurt family traditions.


Vehicles make it easier to get around and go to places that are far away a lot faster than back when it was horse and buggy. This makes it easier to continue many large family traditions like Thanksgiving. Being able to get to your destination faster in vehicles means we can spend more time celebrating family traditions, like Thanksgiving, with more of the family and loved ones.


Now just because families can now celebrate in bigger groups doesn’t mean that, that is a good thing, especially during times like Thanksgiving. Vehicles make is easy for people to go to a family member’s house and stay for longer periods but that can make things crowded and uncomfortable. A good example of being crowded during a family tradition from vehicles would come from an excerpt from Garrison Keillor’s essay called A Wobegon Holiday Dinner, pg. 113-114. “It was the last year our whole family, aunts and uncles and cousins, were together at Al and Flo’s house in Lake Wobegon.”, “There were simply too many of us, about 60, for the three-bedroom bungalow.”


There is yet another quote that adds to the innovation of vehicles that comes from Garrison Keillor’s essay called A Wobegon Holiday Dinner, pg 116. But in this quote he talks about how things became uncomfortable in his aunt’s house. “Everyone had their eyes closed, and believe me, it’s more vivid when you only hear it.” This proves that someone would like to live within walking distance instead of having driven with another person so that they could just go home instead of having to feel out of place.


There is also the fact that many things have been taken or are being taken away from people because of the vehicle innovations. A down side to this innovation is shown through an excerpt from an essay called Six-Word Memoirs by Smith Magazine, this quote comes from Cindi Hounton, pg. 661. “World backpacking decade ends with minivan.” This shows that the fun days of hiking, backpacking, and camping are now little to non-existent, which in turn means that people are now pulling back from some of the family traditions that they once participated in, for example many people now pull back from big family Thanksgivings so that they can go drive off for a brief vacation away from everything.


Vehicles can do more damage than just influencing family traditions, like Thanksgiving, they can cause damage to people themselves. A quote by Paul Schultz from Smith Magazine, Six-Word Memoirs, pg. 659, shows this the best. “Bad brakes discovered at high speed.” Finding anything bad out at a high speed usually ends with injury or death to at least one person. This can change how a tradition like Thanksgiving is held or even thought of; many people have a hard time celebrating a tradition that someone died on.


Traditions, like Thanksgiving, are a great part of many people’s lives. The innovations that can help them get to where their traditions, like Thanksgiving, are being held are great but they are not great enough to chance the lives of those they love. The proof that vehicle innovations are helpful but also harmful to traditions, like Thanksgiving, has been shown throughout this essay.

Cites
Remix: Reading + Composing Culture, Second Edition, written by Catherine G. Latterell published by Bedford/St. Martin’s copyright 2010