Andrew & K.C.

Andrew and K.C. are soccer fans. They just moved to Salt Lake from Idaho with their parents. The night I rode the train with them, they were on their way to help inaugurate the new soccer stadium in Sandy.

Their love of the game must be genetic. Their dad tells me, “In two years we hope we’re riding the train in South Africa on our way to the World Cup.”

Andrew

K.C.

Erin

Erin is a daily rider. She catches the same train every day and sits with the same people. Occassionally though, on a Friday, she’ll have worked all her hours before 5 and leaves the office early. “That”, she tells me, “is when you meet the really interesting people.”

Like this one time when a 14 year old kid made a pass at her. And then got off the train at her stop. And followed her to her car. And then said the funniest thing he could possibly have said. “Pop your trunk, I’ll throw my bike in.”

This is now a secret phrase at my house. Yes, it means what you think it means.

Kimberly

If I’d have guessed, I would have guessed that she was a Julie. Or maybe a Jamie. That would be wrong. She’s Kimberly. That would have been about my 5th guess.

Kimberly works at a bank doing something or another in HR.  Probably cracking the whip on slackers like me who don’t put their timesheets in on time. She rides the train every day and even recognizes some of the other portraits on this site as daily riders.

When I asked to photograph Kimberly she was more than a little skeptical. “For your website? Will you make fun of me?” She even texted her husband to check the URL to prove I was valid. Some shots are totally worth jumping through hoops for though.

Thanks for finally trusing me, Kimberly. To make it worth your while, here’s a bonus shot for you.

Bonus Kimberly

Regis

Regis first caught my attention on the late train home last night when the young girl sitting across from me got up to leave the train and said something to him. I couldn’t make out what it was she said but she was clearly upset with him. It seemed like maybe she wanted him to get off the train with her. But then it seemed like she absolutely didn’t want him to. I couldn’t tell if they even knew each other or if Regis was going to get his ass kicked later by her older brother.

So after she got off at her stop, I scooted over and asked if I could take his picture. While we chatted I asked him about the exchange he’d had with the girl earlier.

“Oh, that’s my girl. She’s mad at me and I didn’t wanna talk about it.”

I don’t know what they were fighting about but he obviously had a lot on his mind.

Ah, young love. I can only hope they get it all sorted out… and that no one gets their ass kicked.

Louis

Louis sits almost perfectly still while the train car rocks under him, his eyes fixed to the page. Occasionally he lifts his hand to turn the page, periodically flipping back to re-read a passage from his Mormon scriptures for reference.

I don’t know where Louis works or even what he does for a living. I only know he rides the train almost every day to save gas and miles on his car. And when he rides, he reads.

Anna

Anna lives on campus at the University of Utah where she’s also a student. Home is where she was headed when she hopped on the afternoon train after a job interview. She’s an International Business major which she hopes will lead her to a career in, “umm… a job?”

Brent Atkinson

Brent Atkinson is that easy-going guy that lives down the street. The one that’s always there when you have a load of topsoil that needs unloading or a palette of sod that needs laying. He’s the sort of guy you just know you could trust to do your taxes. Which is fortunate for him because that’s exactly what Brent does for a living. Taxes, not topsoil and sod.

"I run my iPhone on T-Mobile so I haven't upgraded to the new one yet", he confessed with a sly grin.

He tells me he has about 200 private tax clients right now. Probably all friends of friends, I’d bet. And everyone of them would probably trust him to babysit the kids or borrow their Lexus too. But every morning, he still rides his bike to the train and stands at the end of the car for the ride to work at one of the large downtown firms. Or, as he jovially refers to them, “the man.”

No Brent, YOU are the man.

Mary Webster

At first glance Mary Webster is the classic portrait of the daily commuter. Dressed sharply in a skirt and blouse, she means business. But if you look close enough at any regular commuter you’ll find each one creates a personal space for themselves in their own way. They make this space on the train not quite public but not quite private. And it’s these personal details that tell you about who they really are and give you clues to what kind of person they are away from the office.

And this closer look at Mary tells you there’s more to her than just what you see. Take her glasses, for example. They’re Dolce & Gabbana but still somehow seem better suited for sitting in a coffee shop or riding a scooter around campus than sitting in an office. And the white headphones she uses are connected to a classic iPod. You just know she docks it to a PowerBook in her loft apartment.

There’s an acedemic style about her that’s hard to pin down. But clearly, just underneath the office-worker costume is an independent, academic spirit. And as soon as you chat with her you’re instantly drawn in by her generous smile and charming, subtle east-coast accent.

“I just moved here from Boston”, she volunteered, “you know, just for a change.”

I knew there was probably more to the story and I think she would have told me had I asked but I didn’t press her for it.

“I’m an executive assistant at an accounting company but what I really love is teaching music. I’m a vocal instructor. I studied at the Boston Conservatory. But you gotta pay the bills.”

She enjoys riding the train too. “Though”, she complains, “they aren’t as reliable here as they are in Boston. I just missed my train and I have to wait 15 minutes to catch another.”

Then she told me the story of a friend who regularly rode the train in Boston. “So she was sitting next to a guy who was drinking an orange soda. He’d take a sip and look at her. Then take a sip and look at her. Finally, he turned to her and raised his voice, ‘I’M FINISHED!’ You don’t get too much of that in Salt Lake.”

Alex Barber

Alex Barber rides the train every morning, just as he has since he was a sophomore in high school. He rides from near his parents’ house in Sandy to where he catches a bus to Salt Lake Community College in West Valley.

“I like riding the train”, he told me, “It’s a free ride plus I never have to deal with traffic.”

When I met him, Alex was carrying a sketch pad that he told me he uses in class. He’s 18 now and a first-year architecture major.

Alanna

Some commuters are talkers. Others are watchers. Alanna is a reader.

Alanna didn’t want me to use her last name. In fact, she didn’t even want to give me her last name. But she did seem flattered to have her portrait taken… as long as she could be left alone to read the latest Twilight book without too much chit-chat.