BART is often responsible for my presence at gatherings of friends and family in the Bay Area, since I do not have a car. What many people don’t know, however, is that BART might be responsible for my entire existence. My maternal grandfather was an engineer and he relocated his family to the Bay Area from Maryland in the early seventies so that he could work on the construction of the BART system. It was here that my mother met my father, who had grown up in the East Bay. They eventually married and, a few years later, I was born. Because of this I have always felt a particular warmth towards the transit system, despite it’s many problems and it’s ever increasing price. The system may have sucked up more of my life than I care to consider, with all it’s delays, and the long waits for trains, but it’s also allowed me to spend time with friends and family, be present at various events and occasions, and saved me the cost, both financial and emotional, of having and maintaining a car in the city. For that I am grateful.For me personally, the BART system had the added benefit of providing me with a link to my past. Many times while staring out of the train window at the rolling hills of the East Bay, I think about my grandfather, and wonder if he ever considered how his work would effect his children, his grandchildren, and probably someday his great grandchildren. When I ride BART often a little part of me feels like I’m riding with my grandpa, and this makes me smile.