Posted Aug. 11, 2008 at 2:35 p.m.

I have to admit I didn't have high hopes for the CTA this weekend.  On Saturday, my 7-year-old cousin came to visit from Mississippi and her eyes were all atwinkle about riding the bus and the train, specifically the subway.  After standing in the drizzle during the Bud Billiken parade, I will admit that I wanted to drive downtown, park in the lot for Trib employees and then faux commute back and forth along the Magnificent Mile.

But who was I to deny my cute cousin the authentic experience?  So we took the "L" and several buses on Saturday during the course of our trips to Navy Pier and Millennium Park.  She enjoyed riding the "L," mostly because we had a very funny rail operator who -- bucking the trend of insufficient communication -- kept shouting "this is a Red Line train, this is a Red Line train" for those who were confused by it running above ground. 

At one point, the gravelly voiced CTA employee humorously chided a rider who dropped something, but was too busy gabbing on the phone to hear the operator letting him know the item fell.

All in all, it was fun and my young traveling companion thought buses and trains were "awesome" as they arrived on time and were, for the most part, filled with kind riders who smiled and spoke to her.

So I have to say "thanks, CTA" sans sarcasm...for once.