Holiday Traditions Wrapped in Gratitude

It’s the holiday season, and the Merry Days of Muni are underway. In this episode, agency staff discuss their holiday traditions and what they’re grateful for. We also get the low down on what’s available in the Muni Store’s Merry Days of Muni Holiday Collection. SFMTA Operator Gary Merritt, Transportation Planner Javaun Garcia, Chief Spokesperson Erica Kato, Community Engagement Coordinator Lawrence Festin, Presidio Division Superintendent Aleta Williams, Graphic Designer Anton Belov and Public Relations Officer Sophia Sherr appear in the episode. 

Transcript

MELISSA CULROSS, HOST: The holiday season has begun, and with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we’re thinking about gratitude and traditions.

LAWRENCE FESTIN, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR: I’m always grateful for kindness. Like, I love seeing when people are kind to each other.

MELISSA: Welcome to Taken with Transportation, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s official podcast. I’m your host Melissa Culross, and in honor of the holidays, we are celebrating the Merry Days of Muni. In this episode, SFMTA staff are letting us in on some of their seasonal traditions and what they’re grateful for. And we get the low down on the Muni Store’s limited-edition holiday collection and how this year’s Patchwork of the City holiday design came together. 

I’ll start just to get us warmed up. My holiday traditions include getting together with family in Southern California or, for a few years when my mother was still with us, heading to Hawaii. And I am grateful for joy. Any moment of everyday joy all year long, no matter how small, is something to be cherished. 

And now, more members of our agency family.

GARY MERRITT, MUNI OPERATOR: Hi, my name is Gary Merritt. I’ve been an operator now for 30 years. Mostly every day now, I drive the 45 Union. 

BUS ANNOUNCEMENT: 45 Union-Stockton to Lyon and Greenwich.

GARY: Oh, yeah, I used to live on the corner of Haight and Ashbury. That was, uh, our residence. That’s where I grew up. That was my first real neighborhood. And it was a real neighborhood because it was the 60s. That’s when all the, the revolution, the hippies and, and everything was out. The 49ers played at Kezar. The neighborhood was really a neighborhood. I mean, everybody was real friendly. In the 60s, everything was about love and peace. And everybody was trying to, uh, share. Right now, I’m most grateful for the health and safety of, um, my children. And, uh, our togetherness, and that we’re all in reach of each other, and we can get together at, uh, almost a moment’s notice and celebrate whatever we can. For holidays, I guess what, what gets me, usually gets me in the spirit is when I just go out shopping. I take turns with my daughters, and we go shopping and have a meal and, um, think about how much we like each other. San Francisco in the holidays means to me is, uh, people getting together, sharing love. People being nice to each other genuinely, as they should. People doing more giving than taking, hopefully. But um, I just like the whole aura of the city: the lights, the people, the shopping, the stores. I mean, just everything. The city is my home, and I’m proud to be an ambassador.

JAVAUN GARCIA, TRANSPORTATION PLANNER: I’m Javaun Garcia. I’m a transportation planner here at SFMTA. I work in our Accessible Services team and am currently leading our on-demand micro-transit pilot programs. There are two of them. The first is the Bayview Shuttle which we’re actually celebrating a year of Bayview Shuttle service, which is amazing. And our second is our Access for All program, which funds different services that provide wheelchair accessible vehicle service for people with disabilities. I’m always grateful for family first and, and good health, obviously, for everybody in my family. But I think past year, I’ve really found a lot of community here in San Francisco. And I’m not originally from here, but over the past year, I feel like I’ve found a really solid group of friends and colleagues here at work. And so, I feel really grateful for the community that SFMTA and just San Francisco and the Bay has brought me. Thanksgiving, I actually travel down south typically. So, my family is from South Carolina, Georgia. And if you’ve ever been to the South, it’s, like, very big football, um (laughs) area. So, every Thanksgiving, um, we have Thanksgiving earlier in the day, around noon. And then it’s, kind of, watch football the rest of the afternoon-evening. But Christmas, my partner’s family actually goes caroling. So, we go around the community to people that have lost a loved one recently or maybe have somebody in the hospital and, and sing to them. So, that’s really amazing. I think Muni has been really helpful when I’m looking for gifts for my family members. So, traveling around, you know, connecting to Union Square or different, um, shopping areas in the Mission. I always like to thrift and find unique gifts for my family. So, that’s really helpful. 

ERICA KATO, CHIEF SPOKESPERSON: Hi, my name is Erica Kato, and I’m the chief spokesperson for the SFMTA within the media relations unit. Whenever a TV station, radio station, print outlet reaches out to us, and they want official information about what our agency is doing, I’m responsible for putting together all those responses, doing interviews. And I also plan a lot of events: the press conferences you see featuring the mayor and Julie Kirschbaum and other elected officials. I’m in charge of all of that. So, anything you see SFMTA-related on your TV screen, on your computer, probably I had something to do with it. You know, there’s a lot to be grateful for. I know it’s been a challenging year for a lot of us, but it really boils down to the basics. I’m thankful for my family. I have two healthy kids. Uh, my parents are doing really well right now. I’m thankful for my job, my coworkers. Everyone is so enthusiastic and helpful with the work we do day in and day out. And I’m thankful for my health. 

MELISSA: Kato is also a San Francisco native, and her holiday traditions have always included Muni.

ERICA: Growing up my mom didn’t drive. So, we had to take Muni everywhere. So, Muni was already kind of incorporated into my day-to-day life. But I remember we would take the 28 out to Stonestown. And we would go with our lists, and we would pick out something for everyone. We would get something for my grandparents, my dad, friends at school. So, that was really the most accessible place for mom to take me, and Muni got us there.

MELISSA: That was Kato’s childhood. And today…

ERICA: So, my son really likes the Muni LRV trains. So, uh, once a year in December, I take him down, and we get on a train, and we ride out to Union Square. And from that point, we take a cable car up to the Fairmont Hotel. And as some of you may know, there’s a gingerbread house. It smells like gingerbread. It’s made of real cookie. He loves running around that. So, it’s something that I would have enjoyed when I was a kid. My son loves it. He talks about it all year long, and he’s really gonna love showing his sister around that gingerbread house. I just think Muni is so fun around the holidays, especially, uh, in this day and age. A lot of people leave town during the holidays. So, I think that’s really the perfect time to just get a seat on Muni, ride around. I especially like riding around in the rain. And we usually have a pretty rainy December. So, that’s always fun, looking out the window, seeing the lights. The only time I really take the cable car these days are during the holidays because I really like that fresh winter air on your skin. You see the lights all up and down Powell Street. It, it’s just beautiful. And my family also likes to go to Fisherman’s Wharf. And so, we’ll take the cable car up there, as well. It’s, there’s just so many great places around San Francisco. Uh, it’s really the perfect time, if you haven’t taken Muni recently, to give it a try.

LAWRENCE FESTIN, EQUITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR: Hello, my name is Lawrence Festin. I’m the equity engagement coordinator in the Office of Racial Equity and Belonging in the SFMTA. I do a lot of community things. I partner with SFUSD, SF Public Libraries. I also help to facilitate the Youth Transportation Advisory Board. And I like to be out in the community as much as possible. I’m always grateful for kindness. Like, I love seeing when people are, are kind to each other. There is, like, power in being kind and, like, thinking about empathy and things like that. And I think that even though we might go astray, like, then we can always right the ship. :34

MELISSA: Kindness also is a large part of Festin’s holiday traditions.

LAWRENCE: When I was an educator in SFUSD, I always helped to cook the Fall Feast for Downtown High School. Since I started working here at the SFMTA, I have taken a day off to go back and cook Fall Feast for the high school that I worked for. So, I am there at 6 o’clock in the morning, putting turkeys in the oven. Making just gigantic, uh, trays of macaroni and cheese and things like that. And I do plan this year on going to the, uh, sunrise ceremony at Alcatraz. I’ve gone in years prior. Since I’m not going to be cooking a turkey at my parent’s house, I plan on doing that early, early, early in the morning. And also, I wanted to start a new tradition. I want to see where I can volunteer this year. I’m kinda just willing to give some of my time and, or like, you know, canned goods or whatever I can, like, throughout the whole season. So, into New Years. I think there is a intangible benefit from just helping people. And I want to add the, the positivity into the universe. I love serving, like, the community and Muni makes sure that my, my old students or, like, my community members get to, to the schools and to the, the, the cultural and, uh, and community centers that they need to go to. Like, it is the lifeblood of San Francisco. Thank god for Muni.

ALETA WILLIAMS, PRESIDIO DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT: My name is Aleta Williams, and I am the superintendent at Presidio division. 

MELISSA: Just a quick host note here: Presidio Division is one of the facilities where we maintain and park Muni buses and trains.

ALETA: I have been with the agency for 17 years, started as a driver. From there I went to training for about 7-1/2 years. Started there as a trainer; left as an acting manager to go to being a assistant superintendent. Then to a superintendent, which I currently am doing now. Every year, I’m grateful for family and an opportunity to be with my family. I lost my dad, and so, I’m grateful that my mom is still here. I am grateful for having a wonderful job, for this SFMTA family. I’ve developed so many relationships, being here over 17 years. And so, I don’t take that for granted. I’m very grateful. Um, I’m grateful to be healthy. I’m grateful to be able to walk around and do all the little things that sometimes we take for granted. So, there’s not a day that I don’t wake up in just gratitude. My favorite holiday traditions is decorating and lighting everything up. I love traditional dinners with my family. And my family, um, we all come together. And now that I’m married, my sister-in-law is an amazing cook. So, we always come together to, maybe, like 50 of us, um, and have a really big, nice family dinner. I am always looking forward to that. And I’m most grateful, and one of my greatest traditions is celebrating love. Nothing is more important to me, um, than love, my family, cherishing that. Not taking time for granted. You know, I miss my dad, but I’m always so grateful of the time that we had when he was a part of that and shared that time with me. So, I’m always just so grateful and just so grateful that my mom is here, and that we just get to do it all over again every year. 

MELISSA: Williams works throughout the holiday season every year because the agency also is part of her traditions.

ALETA: I have spent all my holidays from the last 17 years here. As I driver, I drove on the holidays. But I like being here because I want the operators to know how important and special they are to me. I have developed a family and a closeness with them. But to be in that spirit of Thanksgiving and gratitude to them for all that they do; I know it’s not an easy job. I’m always so proud of the operators, celebrating them in that way. And then, just showing up for them with, you know, snacks. I try to do healthy snacks in the morning and letting them know, “Happy Holidays,” and just, having a gratitude and appreciation for them. So, they’re always really touched by that.

MELISSA: Want to start some new traditions? Well, we can do that with the limited-edition seasonal merchandise that’s available now in the Muni Store. Sophia Sherr leads the SFMTA’s branding and social media campaigns, and she tells us what’s in the Muni Store’s holiday collection.

SOPHIA SCHERR, BRANDING AND SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS LEAD: Not only are we going to bring back a limited supply of our Patchwork of the City Pullover, but we’re also taking that pullover design and making matching pajama sets. So, everybody in the family can get really comfy pajamas in the patchwork print. It’ll come in, uh, adult sizes, all, you know, size ranges and then also for kids. So, everybody in the family can have it. And hopefully, they can wear your matching Patchwork of the City pullover pajamas…that’s a mouthful…for the holidays. Take pictures. Tag us on Instagram. We’d love to see it. Um, and then we’re also going to have a limited edition wooden toy train. So, it’s made out of wood. It looks like our LRVs. Um, it has wheels, and it’s perfect for little ones, big ones, transit enthusiasts. Like, it’s our first, kind of, foray into having an actual vehicle toy item. So, that’ll be part of the collection. And then we’re also having, uh, wrapping paper that is the patchwork design. So, you can match giving the gift of Muni on the exterior. Everybody loves a good printed, uh, holiday wrapping paper. And so, this one is really bright and vibrant and will stand out, not only for the holidays but also birthdays, other celebrations as well. And then we also have the, um, system map puzzle. So, it’s our system map. You can get it, challenge yourself. Maybe invite some friends for the holidays and take on the Muni map puzzle, uh, and try to complete it throughout the holiday season.

MELISSA: Why create a holiday collection? 

SOPHIA: When we did our first foray into merch, it was with last year’s Icons of SF holiday sweater. And so, we really saw how popular and how much people loved that design. We only did a pre-sale, and so, folks that didn’t get it during pre-sale were like, “Oh, my gosh! Well, I totally missed out.” So, we wanted to make sure that people, they didn’t miss out on it. And they also, you know, maybe a pullover isn’t your thing, but matching pajamas are. I know in my family, we get matching pajamas and take pictures together. So, you know, kind of expanding into items that we know people like and will likely use outside of the holidays. You know, the wooden train we’ve been wanting to have for a long time, and so, what perfect, you know, time to bring it on, online than the holidays and giving the gift of Muni. And it’s not just these items. You can give the gift of Muni all year, all year round. And it’s not just the holiday merch. It’s also the fabulous hoodies, sweaters, t-shirts that we have. So yeah, I think it’s not just this collection but it’s also all of the other items that are within the Muni Store that we know people love and would love to receive.

MELISSA: You may have seen our Patchwork of the City Pullover in photos, or you may have ordered one this summer. And you can see the Patchwork of the City design wrapped around several Muni buses and trains this season. It was created by SFMTA graphic designer Anton Belov.

ANTON BELOV, GRAPHIC DESIGNER: I drew the initial inspiration from the geometric colorful design patterns of the Bauhaus design. And I thought that representing the city in different grids and patches would be a great metaphor for how the city fits together with its different communities and neighborhoods and landmarks and people. And once we were able to single out some of our favorite landmarks and animals, the ball just started to roll from there. I picked some of my favorite destinations in the city, whether it’s Dragon’s Gate, the TransAmerica building, and I wanted to highlight those things, uh, to show off our city and how you can take Muni to get there. Some of my personal things that I included is definitely the joy of getting presents during the holidays. So, you’ll see some of the gift wraps. Uh, you also see a couple of sweets and candies because I’m also… I have a big sweet tooth. And then of course, the colors. The colors are just very representative of that holiday joy and spirit. Seeing my design being transformed and evolve from a sweater to a bus to, uh, pajamas and even wrapping paper feels completely surreal. This one project has evolved beyond what I’ve ever imagined it could be. It’s, it’s just totally a trip. 

MELISSA: Keep an eye out for our Patchwork the City vehicles, and if you’d like to shop our holiday collection, just go to the Muni Store-dot-com. Now, we aren’t going to let this episode end without asking Belov and Sherr about gratitude and traditions.

ANTON: This year I’m grateful for my friends, the tight knit community that I have. And I’m very grateful for my girlfriend who became my fiancée a few weeks ago. My holiday traditions are a little bit all over the place. I kinda celebrate everything everywhere all at once. My background is Russian. So, we have our own Russian special tradition where we exchange gifts. But also with my fiancée, I spend time with her family. It’s definitely, definitely a treat to be able to celebrate both.

MELISSA: Scherr is grateful for good health and family.

SOPHIA: In the past, I’ve definitely taken for granted, like, health things. And so, I think this year, really, like, making sure that not only health, like, physically, mentally for myself, for my family, um. And just making sure that I’m spending time with the people that I love, that mean the most to me. You know, can’t take anything for granted. Always have to be grateful for, for yourself, your own personal health and then also the health, vitality and everything of your family.

MELISSA: And she has a pretty delicious sounding tradition.

SOPHIA: I am Latin. So, I have Mexican and American citizenship. And so, a New Year tradition is to eat 12 grapes right as the new year rings in. So, you eat 12 grapes and have a prosperous 12 months.

MELISSA: Thank you for joining us on Taken with Transportation. We’re a production of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and you can find the latest episodes at SFMTA.com/Podcast, as well as Apple, Spotify, our YouTube channel or wherever you listen. There is so much going on during the holidays, including our Merry Muni Skate Night at the Union Square Ice Rink on Dec. 3 and a Muni Diaries Art Market on Dec. 6. In our next episode, we’ll showcase how Muni moves you through the holiday season. I’m Melissa Culross. Merry Days of Muni to you!