As I’ve gotten older I have learned that people are very interesting. I’m always fascinated by stories from people’s lives, especially older people. One of the Frontrunner hosts, Steve, I sit with regularly on my way home from school. Me, another student, Steve, and the train conductor always sit together and eat lunch/talk before the train leaves. One time Steve was telling us how gas used to be like 13 cents (unbelievable, right?), and what he did as a child. His claim to fame is knowing John Wayne personally when he was a boy. Isn’t that neat? He and his dad trained horses for John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. According to Steve, Jimmy was a jerk. John Wayne on the other hand was a really nice guy, and he occasionally took Steve out to ice cream.
Another day I sat next to a middle-aged man on the TRAX. We started talking and we discussed photography a little (which is what I have decided to major in), and he told me his little claim to fame: his dog was on the 2006 Shih Tzu dog calendar. He was walking her one day and a lady asked if she could take pictures of the dog and the next day she spent a couple hours taking pictures of his dog Liberty (she was born on the 4th of July). He was amazed that people could take pictures on one subject for that long. He then proceeded to talk to me about how college is really important but you always need to keep learning. “There’s a large percentage of adults who never pick up a non-fiction book after they graduate. They’re trying to stretch a 12 year education through an 80+ lifetime. If you think about it, the numbers obviously don’t add up!” I thought about that and it’s no wonder people get “behind the times”. I can barely keep up with all the stuff going on now. If I don’t keep myself educated, it’s only a matter of a few years before I start losing track of new discoveries, new technology, and new ideas. The man also told me a little about his life: he used to be Mormon and married. He divorced after a twenty year marriage, and now he’s dating around again. He’s from California and he moved here because he’s discovered that many Utah middle-aged women have lower standards/aren’t so picky in their dates so are more willing to date people like him. He said that he used to be a life-coach and health advisor. But when he started smoking cigars and drinking a beer every now and then he felt like a hypocrite and didn’t want to tell other people to be healthy when he wasn’t following his own advice.
I don’t know if this is the dog, but we’ll say it is!
It was interesting talking to him. He was a really nice guy, and I do wish him the best of luck here in Salt Lake. It’s really sad that he (and many others) get divorced after so long of a marriage. I personally believe that if you get divorced after that long it is an act of selfishness in the relationship: either one or both of you weren’t willing to make room for another person’s habits in your life. That’s not always the case, but many times I think it is. One of the LDS General Authorities once said that any righteous young couple can learn to live together. Whether your are LDS or not, I think that is a good point. Anyone can learn to be flexible and become friends with someone as long as they are willing to try and be the best person they can be.
Let’s see, what else has happened? I know I haven’t blogged for a while..
Oh I got sat on by someone on the TRAX last week. It was pretty funny. There I am, reading my book, and some guy comes and sits next to me. He turns to the aisle and starts talking to his friend. After a couple stops, most of the cart had emptied out, and he (I suppose assuming I had left) scooted back and sat on me. He was probably more surprised about it than I was.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I forgot you were there. I apologize!”
I just thought it was funny so I laughed and told him it was okay.
On Friday I was really hungry after school while waiting on the Front Runner. I usually get home around lunch time so I don’t pack a lunch. I was waiting for the train to leave, and a lady walked up to the top level holding brown paper bags. She offered me a lunch that had a sandwich and cookies inside. Perfect timing! I was starving! She proceeded down the row until her sacks were all gone. I ate my lunch, then started reading. A man came on the Front Runner and was talking on the phone. All of a sudden he said, “Hold on, I’m scrambling for a pen…” and looked around. I happened to overhear and I was sitting across the aisle from him so I let me him borrow my pen. He gave me some gum in return, which was nice because I just ate a chicken salad sandwich and gum was looking pretty nice right about then.
Well that’s all for now, I’ll try to keep this updated more often. It’s just been busy with school (which is almost over. Yay!)
*Update in 2015: I was at the store one day getting ice cream, and a man said, “There’s too many choices!” I looked up and laughed, and he said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” Turns out it was Steve the train-host! He has lost all his hair from cancer treatments and isn’t working anymore, and I didn’t recognize him without his thick head of white hair and mustache. We had a brief conversation and I was so shocked at seeing him I didn’t say everything I wanted to say to him, even though I ran through the store to try and find him and his wife before they left. So since I have no way of contacting him and I only know his first name, this is a message to the Universe:
I do remember you. I remember how nice you always were. I really enjoyed all the conversations we had on the train. I’m terribly sorry about your cancer, that is absolutely awful, and I hope the treatments cure you. I wish we had exchanged some sort of contact information or something so I could know how things turn out. If I never see you again, which I expect I won’t, thank you.
Update: A little while after I saw Steve, it kept bothering me that I hadn’t said thank you to him. So I asked on Facebook if anyone knew the train-host Steve who told stories about John Wayne. Someone shared my post and miraculously I was able to get in contact with his granddaughter, who told me that Steve had passed away from cancer. So I was able to tell him family how kind he was to me, and it was nice to get some closure. I learned from that, however, to always take the time to say thank you, to say something nice, to give someone a compliment.
Image Sources: John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Dog
