Letter: Thank you to a man at Glendale train station

Luckily we arrived early at the magnificent historic Glendale Amtrak/Metrolink Station, because we found there were no directional signs, no ticket office, no official staff and only a couple of people wandering around. Fortunately we had purchased and printed out tickets ahead of time via the Internet.

Not knowing where to board the train, and discovering there was no help or information posted, we began to panic and frantically began questioning the few people around. However, they were clueless too.

Then Gene Kramer arrived. Nicely dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, not wearing a name tag, he appeared to be waiting for a train. After asking him a few questions, we discovered he knew all the answers. It turns out Gene has been helping people at this station for years! He kindly gave us all the information we needed. We quickly relaxed and our panic and anxiety was replaced by Gene’s sincere compassion for “us train travelers.”

We were traveling to the Honda Center to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday. We had never traveled by train in Los Angeles County before. Because it was the Fourth of July weekend and we anticipated huge traffic jams, we decided to take the train for a more tranquil experience. Knowing Mr. Kramer’s daily acts of kindness and sincere wish to help people brought great spirit to our adventure. We found goodness and a person truly wanting to help others!

Thank you, Gene Kramer!

Nancy M. Klein
Glendale