My workday this past Friday (10/25/2025) was quite interesting.
It started out filled with dread, as I found out the day before that Kamala was coming to Houston, and that her rally was to be held at the Shell Energy Stadium, which is also a train stop along the route where I operate a light rail train.
I’ve operated a train during large events — Astros games, concerts, Astros victory parade, the Super Bowl, international soccer events, high profile conventions (like the NRA national gathering), etc — and every single one of those events was an extremely stressful work day (or night). (I still have PTSD from shuttling rabid fans going to the Astros victory parade in 2017.) So it was natural to be expect the same with the Kamala rally.
My shift started at 3:31AM, and I pulled my train out of the yard by 3:56AM. (Actually, it worked out to a bit earlier than that.) On my first westbound trip into downtown, I’m scheduled to stop at the EaDo Stadium Station platform (where the Shell Energy Stadium is located) at 4:25AM. Even before I approached the stadium, I could see a small handful of news cameras staked out at various points.
After the sky got light and event organizers finished setting up the barriers to create a channel for the rally goers to line up, I saw the first rally campers arrive. They were a small group that included a man in a motorized wheelchair, a woman carrying a camp chair, and a young girl. It was still at least 7 hours before the gates would open. With each east and westbound pass, the line gradually grew. Folks were sitting on the ground and in their camp chairs.
We were anticipating there to be a huge crowd at around noon. But there already was quite the line forming and spilling out on to the sidewalk that runs parallel to the train tracks, and going down the block. After another couple of round trips, the line was already starting to wrap around the block. And there were still hours left before the gates would open.
As I was having my lunch break between 10:02AM and 11:14AM, I was listening to the radio chatter. There were already instructions to “reduce your speed, increase your audibles.” So be the time I relieved the operator, whose train I was supposed to take over, I asked him, “How bad is it?” And he replied that it wasn’t bad at all, but that you had to be extra careful going eastbound, as that was the track that ran parallel to the sidewalk where the crowds were lining up.
In the 9+ years I’ve been doing this job, this was the FIRST majorly event that I actually enjoyed doing! The traffic and crowd control was on point, and the crowd was extremely well behaved — certainly NOT like the idiot crowds that attend the sports and concert events and deliberately walk or drive in front of moving trains (thereby making what should be a 2-minute trip from one platform to the next into a 20-minute ordeal).
And the energy!!!!!
The energy was infectious!
Not only was this an extremely well behaved crowd, the folks were upbeat, positive, and joyful! Their energy and enthusiasm was infectious! And it certainly felt nice to be among people supporting a rational and sane candidate.
It was a real rush piloting my 55-ton steel beast at walking speed with the ding-dinger (the gong) ding-dinging, with the packed crowd on one side and on the other side the cops on horseback, law enforcement of different flavors on the ground, rail supervisors, and more rally goers trying to reach the crowd.
The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement!
I enjoyed interacting with the rally goers. Instead of my usual scowl or [not so] resting bitch face, I had a smile for everyone. When a fellow asked about tickets, I told him to “just get on to go to the Blue Wave.” He broke out into a broad smile. At the stop just before the rally site, while waiting for my single to upgrade, I opened my cab door, poked my head out, and said, “Welcome aboard the Childless Cat Lady Express!” The gales of laughter thrilled me to the core!
Many people were carrying signs. Some signs were simple, such as: “VETERANS FOR KAMALA.” Another was something to the effect: “AT LEAST WE’RE NOT A CULT.” And the one that made me laugh said: “GOD IS KEEPING TRUMP ALIVE SO THAT HE COULD LOSE TO A BLACK WOMAN.”
My biggest frustration was that I could not take photos, as having my cellphone out while operating is extremely verboten. So I had to take it all in with my eyes and use my words to paint the pictures of all that I could see and experience.
Because this was such an amazing crowd, if I had been asked to do an extra trip, I would have said “yes.” This event was an amazing and positive experience. And everything ran so smoothly that I was only 4 minutes late in making my relief.
If I hadn’t been away from home since 2:20AM, and if I didn’t have hungry animals at home waiting to be fed, I would have considered going to the rally, as I heard it was awesome. But at least I got to play my part by shuttling the Kamala supports to the rally.
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