Riding the Rails

Right this moment I am riding on the Chicago purple line elevated "L" train.  I have ridden each of the L train lines in Chicago before and today I will be on three different color lines...purple, red, and orange.

Though this is just for an hour or so that I will be riding and transferring on my way to the airport, I am reminded of the lengthy nearly 24 hour long train ride I took from Cairo to Aswan in Egypt.

That train in Egypt, even though we had "first class" tickets, was in such a state that even the Chicago red line trains look clean, tidy and safe.

Now to my mindfulness rather than just reminiscing. I recall how much each member of our group in Egypt had to help others even while lugging around up to 100 pounds of belongings.  We had to keep each other and our belongings safe and generally together in the massive crowds in particular at the Cairo station.

In doing this as a group in our first few days together we were able to set the tone for a collective approach for the next four months together.

As with many of the more challenging obstacles we were to face as a group, the way we cared for and assisted each other even while we were exhausted or frustrated with another of our travel mates, our general cohesiveness shone through. This set the tone for much of our continued bond these many years later.