Last year, my mother, a few weeks before a milestone birthday, learned she needed major surgery. The circumstances were not life-threatening. She would not be in the hospital long. But the recovery would still be protracted and restrict her ability to care for my father, who has Parkinson’s.
No worries. Her three grown children, all of whom live in distant cities, snapped into action. We would fly in for the surgery, call in extra help, telephone a few of her friends and ask them to check in, drop off some food, otherwise be on call. We congratulated ourselves for a well-designed plan. There was only one problem.
My mother insisted we not tell a soul.
We want to let you in on a secret.
The 
The Palo Alto Weekly published a terrific article on the difficulty in area residents (Palo Alto and Menlo Park) in getting around if they are no longer driving a vehicle. The article focuses on private transportation options available to seniors.