Albuquerque has Rail Runner Express commuter trains.

On Don Grissom's latest documentary video, Albuquerque transit officials explain that Gov. Richardson decided to go with rail -- and "went on ahead" -- without "a big study."

The officials indicated weariness with previous studies that were "designed to fail." That business is a well studied "racket," as we've seen all too well here in Oklahoma.

Plainly, most central Oklahoma highways parallel the routes of the historic rail lines that actually built the city and state. Just as plainly, it is far easier and less expensive to use longstanding transport corridors, set up prior to dense development, than to superimpose all-new corridors on pre-existing development.

Compare the map of OKC's rail lines on the opening page of North American Transportation Institute's web site (check your search engine) -- to some of ODOT's "triumphs -- like, for instance, roller-coaster I-44 north -- like a bowl of debris-sprinkled spaghetti -- including that wonderful, dangerous, expensive "bridge over nothing," the fabulous Belle Isle.

Like all rail system startups, Rail Runner has its detractors -- the sort of people who might have complained that Joe Montana, at age 2, "didn't throw much of a pass...".

As has long been noted, transit systems are like forests: The time to plant one is 70 years ago -- but if you didn't do it then, the time is now. However, in the latter case, don't be complaining next year about the lack of shade -- or because you can't yet hang a swing or a treehouse in the young trees.

Like forests, transit systems take time. Like trees, we plant transit systems for our grandchildrens' use. Just one of the reasons it's important to start now -- with what's available to us now.

Who believes we can afford to allow the highway lobby to send us futher backwards before we can get some kind of a start?

Fortunately for central Oklahomans, our great grandparents' generation left us the best potential multimodal hub in the West -- in OKC Union Station's grand, expansive rail yard and terminal.

But are we wise enough to use it reverently? (Or will we, like Esau, sell our birthright for a single meal? Paul the Apostle, commenting, says, "Don't be a profane man like that one...")

Surely, in any case we can clearly see our grandchildrens' need of it. We're leaving those kids "$40 billion in unfunded highway maintenance need," a depleted social security trust fund, etc. Maybe we should ask ourselves what qualifies this generation of "merry debt producers" to deny the gifts of our forbears to our own children and grandchildren.

...but, then, that might require thinking about something higher than "basketball..." (Help me -- help me -- I'm starved for entertainment...)

TOM ELMORE