Riding along the Southwest Corridor Park reminds me of when Pete and I used to run together after work – we’d keep pace for the first mile or so, and then when I couldn’t take it any more he would take off ahead of me, and pass me after he had turned around and I was still chugging along like the pokey runner I am. Passing through Hyde Park and Readville reminds me of trips to the pediatrician when I was little, and of dropping Jennifer off at a summer job she had in that building on the corner where the road turns 90 degrees…in a building that’s being converted to condos now. 

The Route 128 Station…I can’t even count all the memories that brings back. I remember when they redid the station and suddenly there were vending machines! With candy in them! That we could ride our bikes to! They had those creme filled caramels that start out rock hard and then end up gluing your mouth shut with their stickiness after a minute. I remember giving Whitters, Mails, and the rest of the “Down Under Up Over Tour” girls instructions to get off the train there when they were finally able to get out of New York City after 9/11 and they needed hugs and home cooked meals desperately. 

Fifteen years ago we were catching trains into Boston and hanging out at The Garage in Harvard Square because it was the cool thing to do. Now I’m riding the opposite direction, from my job in the financial district to my best friend’s place, where her husband lets me in and we have dinner with her eighteen month old daughter before meeting up with another friend, who helped her husband put their four year old and eighteen month old to bed before meeting us for deliciously potent beverages and a movie.

Some times it’s funny to think how much things have changed. Most times it’s awesome to think about how some things have stayed the same, and how those awesome people are still in my life, and more awesome than ever.