Lent Day 14: Blessed in Public (Transit)

"Have a blessed day... thank you for riding MetroLink."

I love having different ways of commuting to work, be it the roar of the car or the whoosh of cycling.  But traveling by light rail provides me with a sense of actually living in a city.  The St. Louis mass transit system is modest compared to others I've known, especially compared to New York (where I grew up), or San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Washington DC.  Add to that Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing and Amsterdam -- hmm... I hadn't realized I've really traveled quite a bit.

All those cities require mass transit to sustain their populations; perhaps that's one reason St. Louis has never grown that much, at least since Prohibition.  It's a choice the metro area has made -- to not support growth of the system but rather continue funding a motor vehicle-centric economy.  And if one reads the forums of the local newspaper, it's apparent that many think that all train commuters are poor, people of color, rude and drags on society -- and get their rides paid for by the tax dollars from "upright honest citizens" -- and really like to "troll" the forums.

My own experience on MetroLink is that the ridership is mostly hardworking people just trying to get to and from work, school, the hospital, the ballgame, or shopping.  People are mostly courteous and even quite helpful if they notice a novice rider.  And it's great to be able to sit back and read, think or even sleep on the way to work.

But there's one thing St. Louis has that the other mass transit systems don't:  the conductor/engineer announces all the stops.  There is no pre-recorded voice on tape (long ago) or digital media (I was really impressed by New York's new subway trains last Thanksgiving).  St. Louis offers personalized experiences that vary by conductor and his/her mood and I'd swear that's affected by the weather and other factors.  Some are monotonous, leaning towards the pre-recorded messages; others become downright sing-songy.

But my favorite is:  "Have a blessed (one syllable) day.. thank you for riding MetroLink."

Granted that "blessed" means different things to different people and might even be offensive to some.  But I interpret that farewell in its most positive sense -- reflecting God's relationship with the conductor and him sharing that with, in this case, me and God's relationship with me.

To me it's special.  And helps put me start the day on an upbeat note.


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