It would be nice if our children had the same likes and dislikes as we do. But as we all know, that is not the case. Parents have to cross over to their side, and are often surprised by the result.

I made a deal with my son during spring break – if he could keep his cool, he would earn a trip. My son loves trains and public transportation, particularly SEPTA’s Market-Frankford line. Once, we spent an afternoon at the Frankford Terminal, he with his trusty digital video camera in hand, shooting footage of the elevated train and various buses leaving the station (he also loves taking the bus).

The prospect of spending the day on public transportation without even having a destination has never held an allure for me. I have nothing against the system. In fact I was once one of the many kids from Northeast Philadelphia who commuted daily to Temple University. If you were lucky, you either had a car or a friend to drive you to school. But most kids were like me, taking the bus to the El and transferring again to another bus or the subway. On a good day, that took about 90 minutes. It wasn’t horrible, and was always a good time to catch up on studying. But I never considered it to be enjoyable.

Continue reading to see the videos Pat and his son took of their ride on the El.

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We all worry. It doesn’t matter if our young child is picked up by a van to go spend the morning at daycare, or our teenagers grab the SEPTA bus to be on time at North Catholic, George Washington, or one of the many high schools in Northeast Philadelphia. The worry only increases when they move their belongings to a college, get married and start a family of their own. The parent trap has a hold of you, and there is no way out.

“Parenting – It never ends… It NEVER ends,” says Jason Robards in the movie ‘Parenthood’. “It’s like your Aunt Edna’s ass. It goes on forever and it’s just as frightening.”

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