As I hope you can
tell, I love writing this column. As New
York Times columnist Thom Friedman once said, a commentator should be
both in the heating business and the lighting business… getting people fired up
while providing factual support for his arguments.
Well, the “heat” runs both ways, as the comments I
receive each week constantly remind me. For reasons best known to my bosses at
Hearst, anonymous comments are allowed to be posted on the website version
of my column. Here are a few recent love notes from your
fellow readers:
When I wrote recently about the power failures on
Metro-North, cantchangestupid wrote
“I sure hope a thorough investigation gets done on why those
transformers failed. I see sabotage as the democratic conclusion.” Gee.
And I thought I was cynical.
Or how about this gem from StaggerLee: “Am I the only
one who thinks Jim Cameron is a Useful Id-yot put out there to enable the
spendthrift DemocRATs doing their best to drive the state's economy into the
ground?” You’re not alone StaggerLee. Your colorfully named (yet anonymous) friends
say that a lot, though it is not true.
On the recently approved “lock box” on the Special
Transportation Fund, NotMyProblem
opined: “The current Gov already figured
out how to get around the lockbox by simply diverting funds before they made it
into the lockbox.” That’s true, as I pointed
out in a recent column.
On Twitter rpm4Liberty
noted that Metro-North fares, though the highest of any commuter railroad in
the US, don’t cover the operating costs but require a state subsidy. He noted: “my
truck starts every morning when I want it to, and I don’t need roads.” Wow… a flying truck?
And Grizzly
Beer Bear adds: “So is it wrong (to ask)
the people who use this 18th century form of transportation to pay for it? For that money you could BUY A CAR and not
steal money from people who will NEVER use the rail service.” Obviously Mr Bear enjoys driving in bumper to
bumper traffic and wants to add to it by pricing rail riders off trains and
back into their cars.
For April Fools’ Day I tweeted a
picture of a railroad dome car, soon to be added to Metro-North service, noting that the
ride may not be fast but it sure would be scenic. A few followers thought the news was true,
but one guy who got the joke commented “When the
train derails from lack of PTC you're already halfway outside!”
Much of the email I get is commuters
just asking for help: where to complain
about late trains, how to report uncollected tickets on a crowded train or
asking about the lack of station parking.
I’m always glad to direct people where to get answers.
Having been at this commuter advocacy
mission for awhile, I occasionally even get a note of thanks. Christian N recently emailed me that his
commute never seems to improve, adding “I am losing all hope. But thanks for
your advocacy. You deserve to go to
heaven.”
That final train ride, I answered, would
probably be on a local train, running late, but oh so scenic.
Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media
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