MARTA

Susan Roberts

As the train speeds through the dark, ominous tunnel, its passengers sit contentedly inside. A woman yaks away on her expensive cell phone. The homeless man in the corner sleeps soundly, dreaming a peaceful dream. A young child squeals with laughter and delight as her father plays peek-a-boo with her, and her brother runs back and forth from window to window. This train is not just a train, but a vessel of culture, bringing the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the seen and the unseen together. It carries these people at highly accelerated paces through the city of Atlanta and into the neighboring districts. It provides the poor with an easy, inexpensive form of transportation. It provides the rich with a convenient mode of travel. All of these different people are riding together, blissfully unaware of each other as they speed through the city. Though sometimes bad things happen on the trains, they feel safe here because they are not alone. They have all of the other MARTA riders that are there with them, and the possibility of bad things happening seems far away and unlikely.

Not only does it provide a way of travel and culture, but it provides enrichment and escape. Each person sits inside and is taken over by an odd sense of peace. The train lets people ride in a tranquil environment, not paying attention to anything but the blurred walls that rush by, lulled into the quiet passage of time as their thoughts drift in and out of their heads, undisturbed. While some of the trains are more crowded than others, the quiet never escapes those who know how to harness it. Even as the hustle and bustle rushes around them, they are all respectful of each other’s space and the space that is their own, never daring to leave that precious bubble. Sometimes the people make the decision to get work done, while others simply enjoy the ride, knowing that it will be their only moments of peace during the day. Though they might be crammed beside the window or standing in a group of strangers, they are mostly ignored, and they like it that way.

The train comes to a whooshing stop at an underground station and some of the passengers get off. New passengers take their places. A young girl smiles up at a man with a grumpy look on his face. His heart is warmed as he returns her smile. A different man drops his wallet and the woman beside him reaches down and picks it up, returning it to his outstretched hand. The kindness of a stranger hits him deep, and his entire day is put into new light. Were it not for this train, these people would never have had the chance to interact. This train is a harbor of mysteries, bringing all people to the same level as they are no longer affected by wealth or feelings of superiority. Though nobody is speaking, there is a sense of camaraderie. They are all brought here by only one thing and that is the need for transportation, yet most of them leave without the slightest of thoughts about that transportation. They don’t realize that the train has gotten them from point A to point B in a cost effective, timely manner. Some of them take the train just so that they can keep one more car off the road, while others simply use it because it is there. The train is inconspicuous in its travels from station to station, not to be the center of its riders’ attention, but to provide the simple service of transportation.

This clean, sleek, fast train travels back and forth all day long from the North Springs station to the Airport station. It is always there, so reliable that most of its riders have come to expect it, never giving it a second thought. The others are simply thankful that they are able to use the MARTA train and are grateful each time that it pulls into the station. Either way, this train, and the other just like it, never disappoints. Like clockwork, the train stops at a station, picks up the riders, and moves on to the next station. The screens that hang from the ceiling announce the remaining time until the train arrives, and tell that train’s destination.  The waiting passengers sit calmly, haste and worry set aside for a different time and place, knowing that all is well and that they will get to where they need to go.