It was a very cold morning,and of course those sitting on the stand, which included Governor Leavitt and others, were sitting with the sun facing us, which made it warmer. Those in the audience were in the shade,which included my 7 year old daughter and my Mother who was in her 70's. After we got done with the speeches, we boarded the inaugural train which was going up to the Gallivan Plaza stop and then would come back. However the last thing I saw as I boarded the train, was my 7 year old Jessica crying because it was so cold, standing next to my mother. I felt absolutely horrible and just wanted to get back to get her warmed up. When the train came back, I quickly got off, but couldn't see them anywhere. I should have realized that my Mom would take care of my daughter, but I began to panic. There were huge crowds, and of course, everyone wanted to ride the train. The next train was leaving, and I figured they were on it. I quickly got on it, to see if I could find them.
Picture this, a Trax train totally packed, such that you couldn't even walk, if you wanted to. I looked desperately in the car for them, couldn't find them, so at the next stop, got off, ran up the platform and hopped in the next car. It reminded me of the crowded trains I had taken frequently in Japan, but I had no idea what lay in store for me. Not finding them in the next car, I got off at the next stop, ran up to the next car, and so on until I had been in all four cars, and then even proceeded back to look again in each of the cars, and to check the platform, in case they got off.
While it's hard to imagine, few had cell phones back then, and while we had one in our family, my wife had it. There was no way to call and see where they had gone, and the haunting image of my daughter crying was really taking its toll. We finally arrived at the Sandy stop, where the forced us all to get off. I tried to explain that I was actually one of the speakers and an official from Salt Lake City, but they wouldn't let me stay on the train. They told me I would have to get back in line, which was blocks long to go back to Salt Lake. On top of that, the pay phone on the platform, had not yet been installed, so no cell, no pay phone, and stranded in Sandy! I noticed a gentleman pulling out his cell phone, and I approached him and asked if I could make a call to my brother, who lived near by. They too had been stranded like me, and I think were calling a taxi or something. He looked at me and asked, "Do I know you?", to which I explained that I was Carlton Christensen from the Salt Lake City Council. I was relatively new at the time, and pretty unknown. It turns out the gentleman was John Saltas from the City Weekly. He was kind enough to write about the experience later and about the fact that UTA had not be discriminating about who they stranded!
Well, my brother Elliott came and picked me up, drove me back to the arena station, and I decided I had to go call my wife and tell her I had lost both our daughter and my mother! I started to explain to the UTA Director of Rail Operations, my plight when a train pulled up and off hopped my mother and daughter, who were both smiling and had an enjoyable ride. I looked at them and couldn't believe what I had just been through and asked them what had happened. It turns out, that my mother put them both on the next train, to keep my daughter warm, but when they got to Sandy, she refused to leave the train, and utilized her senior status to make the point! Both she and Jessica enjoyed some chocolate coins she had in her purse and affirmed that they like the train!
Today, I've decided to take my daughter Sarah with me to ride, but we both have cell phones, as does my wife, and come what may, she's a VIP and I'm not going to let anyone separate us!
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