Whenever I take BART into San Francisco for a work-related event, I always feel like such a grownup. I grew up on Long Island, and riding the commuter rail from the Island into Manhattan felt to me like to the true marker of adulthood. When I was finally old enough to board the train at Freeport station, take my seat on the train car, open up my copy of the New York Times, and enjoy the ride into my office, then I would know I was a fully-fledged adult.

Alas, I have never had a job that required more than a 5-10 minute commute, and I am very grateful for that; but it also means I’ve never really had the opportunity to be among those people who ride the train into work on a regular basis. Even today, a part of me is still that kid who can’t wait ’til she’s old enough to ride the into the City all by myself. For the guy in this drawing, on the other hand, there didn’t seem to be anything fun or adventurous or novel about BARTing in to the financial district. He was wearing a really cool coat, though.

Ajuan Mance