There was a nursing home in my home town that had a rural American analogue: a car that didn't start in the nursing home's back yard.
The anecdotes I heard weren't about rushing home to their families, but rather, using the car for things like getting groceries. Apparently it was a very successful tool.
I can envision future nursing homes with roaring fake Humvees and other SUVs. Fake tube stations where it may apply.
I find it very endearing to be honest. I know how it feels to be lost and confused, wanting to be home. When you're extremely tired, when you've lost a loved one... I feel for these frail older people.
At first I was going to say "what a sad reflection on American culture" (the fact that the car is the enduring anchor of the Alzheimer patient), but then I realized they could use the same single car for all their patients, so it is, in a way, mass transit.
The anecdotes I heard weren't about rushing home to their families, but rather, using the car for things like getting groceries. Apparently it was a very successful tool.