A Decade Earlier...We Rode The Rails

I noticed the sign as I got on the bus this morning. Ten years. It's been ten years since the Frontrunner train began operation. It links the three largest metropolitan areas in Utah. Ten years of transporting commuters, shoppers, students, families to where they needed to go.

I take a bus to work and the train home. I could take the train to work and the bus home (or train/train or bus/bus...), but with my schedule, bus to work and train from work is the best combination for me. 

Ten years.

When I saw the sign this morning I remembered a trip our family took back when the train was new and the UTA (our public transportation system...) offered everyone free rides. We parked the van, crossed the bridge and sat on the benches while waiting for the next train. We asked a stranger to snap a picture of the whole family.

Looking through digital photo albums, I found the picture.

Ten years.

It was the year after my mom passed away and the kids looked so little. They looked that way because they were that little. Today we have three legal adult children and one new teenager. Back then the oldest child was the same age as our youngest is now.

I know many hate the idea of spending millions of taxpayer dollars on public transportation. Personally, I love riding the train. It reminds me of when I lived in Denmark and, a few years later, traveled around Europe. Even though the train came before the automobile, for me there's something more sophisticated about traveling by train. 

I'm glad we have the picture of the family. We don't have a lot of pictures with all of us together. And just think, we have a train to thank for it.