Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Travel by trains in a big city

Howard Good and I teamed up over two days to disprove the myth that Los Angeles does not have a public transit system.

In the process I met two facinating people.

(1) The engineer on the Metro Gold LIne gave us commentary and touring information as we travelled from Union Station to Sierra Madre Villa. Normally on the Metro Rail system a computerized voice announces the stops, the transfer point to other rail lines. On this ride we heard the name and the theme of the designer of each uniquely designed metro station. We learned that the train speed limit in Highland park had been reduced to 15 miles per hour because of the proximity to homes and children. When we went into a dark tunnel, it was suggested take a short meditative moment to close our eyes and relax as native american flute music was played.

At the end of the ride, Howard suggested we should see what out guide looked like. As it was the end of the line for that train, he was also exiting the train and we introduced ourselves. I am sorry that I forgot his name. He is from the Apache indigenous American tribe (Indian, Aboriginal, First Nations). He taught us a new hand shake--with the left and because it is closest to the heart.

(2) I met Javier or "Javi" Ojero from Spain on a one year hitch-hicking adventure of the Americas when I sat next to him and his backpack on MetroLink. We talked about American politics, travel with a backpack, crossing international borders, and the adventure of hitchhiking.

2 comments:

  1. Hi! Glenn:

    Please tell Rudy, "Hi!" from me when you see him next. Thanks for reminding me I did not put the link in for Sam's website. Life goes on Bangladesh. I remember when Howard, you and I walked around downtown LA and people couldn't believe we actually would walk from place to place. They kept asking us about our car.

    Jesus' Peace, Kevin

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  2. Hey Kevin,

    Thanks for posting a comment on our blog. Nice to hear from you and I enjoy reading about you, you family, and your work in Bangladesh here.

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