Well, I'm up in northern Maine waiting for word on a local writing gig.  In the meantime, I have no car, and I am completely at the mercy of those who are willing to give me a ride or lend me their vehicle.  And whenever I'm stuck in this predicament, I always start reminiscing about all the public transit I've experienced over the years.

I went to college in Boston, so naturally I've spent more time than I care to think about either riding on or waiting for the T.  Over the years, I developed an intense love-hate relationship with the T.  Of course, I was always glad it was there - how else was I going to get around?  I'd certainly never want to drive in Boston.  And although it prides itself in being America's oldest subway system, well, its age shows.  It stops running around midnight, and in certain areas of the city the T is actually above ground and more a trolley than a subway (so it has to stop for street traffic).  But I've encountered some crazy characters on the T and had fun goofing around waiting for the train.  In fact, the T was such a staple of life in Boston, that my best friend recently had the MBTA map tattooed on her calf.

When I spent a semester in Europe, part of my tuition went towards a Eurail pass.  Needless to say, that was pretty awesome.  I became very familiar with the different national train lines: Dutch and German trains were easily my favorite (modern, clean, always on time), but I was not so much a fan of the Italian trains (old, sketchy, never on time).  But all the trains are a generally good memory for me; it was definitely the best way to see the countryside.  I remember waking up early one morning while traveling from Rome to Munich just as we were traveling through the Alps.  The train was passing through this little Swiss hamlet nestled in the snow capped mountains; it was just around dawn and there was a light snow falling.  It was like out of a story book.

I also spent a great deal of time riding on or waiting for the bus and trains in and around Perth, Western Australia.  I quickly learned not to ride at the back of the bus, as I would inevitably make creepy friends.  The express train between Fremantle and Perth was a great discovery (for some time I was taking buses to travel between the two cities).  There's even a movie about this train - it came out while I was there, but unfortunately, I never had the chance to see it.

And of course there are all the hours upon hours I've spent on coach bus lines, countless crazy cab rides, and perhaps my favorite mode of transport, the tuk-tuk.  I suppose I've even spent a fair amount of time on boats and ferries in various places.  

Ah, mobility.