Free Fare Zone

I have often thought that a documentary should be made called "Free Fare Zone." In Salt Lake, where I live, they have a public transportation system named Trax. This is a great step for Salt Lake. We certainly are no match for the metro of Paris or the T of Boston, but we are making our way in the world.

One feature of the Salt Lake Trax system is the Free Fare Zone.

As you can see from the picture, the Free Fare Zone comprises the very downtown area. I think this is a nice thing. The Free Fare Zone allows most of the impoverished folk that live down in the city center a way to get around and a warm place to sit on really cold days.

But as you can imagine, the Free Fare Zone brings together the most diverse socioeconomic mixture of people that one could likely find in Salt Lake City. It is a real smattering of all the walks of life. Obviously, this is not an all inclusive view as many many people drive to work in Salt Lake, particularly those who are a bit better off than most. But riding Trax for about a year now, I have really gained an interesting perspective.

Just this morning, there was a young lady. She was riding Trax with one of her friends. She said she was 21. She dropped out of school when she was 12 years old, and she had to get up every few minutes and run to the stair wells of the train to spit because she was addicted to those nicotine/tobacco strips, and apparently, they cause quite a bit of saliva to form. I listened to her talk, the way that she carried herself, the words she used, I looked at the way she dressed, and I listened to energy in her voice. I wondered what all had transpired in her life, what had brought her to this point, what she cared about, what she saw for herself, what she wanted most in life, sooo many thoughts ran through my head. I struggled to still read my book thinking of this young lady. She is roughly the same age as me, and yet here we are at such different places in our lives. How did we get where we are and will we ever be able to help each other to grow and learn and change?

Other times, riding trax has reduced me to tears. The other day while riding in the Free Fare Zone, I listened to a young man rather loudly relate the history of his life including all the molestations, abuse, and violence shown him in his short life. He looked not well, and I wondered what this life will mean for him. I was impressed that another man on Trax was kindly listening to him and trying to offer as much comfort as he could to this young stranger.

I cried that day. My heart hurt for that young man and all others like him. I have probably seen at least a hundred like him on Trax in the last year. All of them let down by those that should have been caring for them. All of them hurt and changed forever. It made me wonder what life would be like in those circumstances. It made me want to do something to help, but that day, it mostly made me sad.

Then I remembered how my mom taught me that pitying others is really no way to help. Pity isn't the cure, its rather a selfish emotion. So then I looked for what I knew. That there is utility in every experience, and once you find that, you can put it into action.

I remembered that there is something divine in everyone. I remembered that I am not so different from these others. I suppose that is why my heart aches so for them. I think it is what gives me the motivation to do something more, something meaningful, something helpful with my existence. After all, I have been rather blessed with opportunities in my young life. I had better do something worthwhile don't you think?

I realized that all of these experiences are broadening my view of the world. I am realizing a greater capacity to understand and empathize with those from every circumstance in life. Obviously, I would not claim that due to my small commute on Trax everyday, I am some expert on how others live, but I am grateful to have an inkling. I think I can do something with this, and it excites me.

So at the end of the day, I am grateful for these Free Fare Zone riding Folk. I am grateful for their lack of inhibition to share their life experiences despite its blatant rebuttal of the polite social norms and so called "proper" behavior. It is refreshing to witness their honesty and to be taught by it.