So things have been going well lately. Not too much excitement (which has resulted in slacking off on posting here. Oops). Although I did go to Portland for a conference about a week and a half ago. I could rave about Portland all day, seeing as how it is a place I had always wanted to go and it lived up to my expectations: chilly, rainy, lots of hipsters, beautiful flowers, great quirky local businesses, free and easy to use public transportation, Powell’s Books, where I wandered around for ages and had the time of my life. I was also able to wander around the Saturday market and look at all the cool art and food booths and I was even able to make it over to the Rose Festival Parade (complete with about 80,000,000 marching bands, people dressed in Star Wars Costumes and to my delight, a Mardi Gras float with some flambe’ people and jazz!). And, you know, the conference was great, too.
Anyways, one issue we have been working on is the public transportation system here (called UTA). Which has gotten me to thinking: what makes a good (or even great) public transportation system? I think my personal favorite is London’s, but that could simply be the polite British voices telling me to Mind the Gap! Is it a system that is free/low cost? Is it a system that reliably gets you where you need to go without long waits or walking? I don’t really know.
When I was growing up, I never knew anyone who took the bus. It always seemed sketchy, but at least we saw buses tooling around the city. In college, I think I saw a city bus once. And I remember saying “Really? They have buses here? Huh….” So Salt Lake City’s bus and light rail system has been fun to use. But for whatever reason, few people use it. I have been on more than one bus where there have been three or fewer passengers which is just a waste (even if it means I get to set my stuff on the seat next to me and not feel like a jerk)!
Something to think about, I suppose, while waiting for the next bus to arrive…
Marjorie's Mission Montage 