The War on Cars

Honku: A War on Cars Holiday Special

Added 2021-12-24 21:59:34 +0000 UTC

Hark, ye Patreon supporters! Pour some egg nog and gather 'round a crackling fire. It's time for a War on Cars holiday tale.

Honku is kind of a Christmas story. New York City drivers tend to be at their most stressed out and aggressive around the holidays. And the events described here took place almost exactly twenty years ago, right around Christmas 2001. Sleigh bells and honking are the sounds of the holiday season in New York.

Honku is also a Bill de Blasio story. New York City's soon-to-be-former mayor makes a cameo here as a rookie politician in his very first weeks as a member of City Council. We’ve got just one more week before Mayor De Blasio leaves office and, presumably, ends his political career. Honku is, for me, a kind of bookend to the De Blasio era.

But most of all, Honku is my personal War on Cars origin mythology. It’s the story of how I first started fighting back against car dominance and motorist sociopathy in my own neighborhood, in my own small, quiet, weird way.

I performed this telling of Honku before a live audience on The Moth Mainstage in Los Angeles, California on December 6, 2016. It can also be found in The Moth's printed anthology, Occasional Magic, along with dozens of other great stories by fantastic storytellers. Look for The Moth's forthcoming new book, How to Tell a Story, in the spring of 2022. Special thanks to The Moth for allowing us to republish Honku here.

On behalf of Doug and Sarah, we hope you have a good, safe, healthy, omicron-free holiday. Thanks for supporting us on Patreon and enjoy the story!

-- Aaron