It seems that life these days is made up of the spaces in between when we work, and with all of the constant communication that goes on those spaces keep getting smaller. In my life, I haven’t helped things by being in a position that essentially has me on call 24 hours a day, and the fact that I am a one man band with my own company that has me acting in a customer service role all the time. In the early days of SDS I also travelled a lot, so my time at home was limited. I have been very fortunate to have a wonderfully understanding wife who allowed me to do these things by covering during my absence, but there have been times that I have missed things that have gone on with my two boys growing up that I wished I had been there for.Recently it seems that the roles have changed a little bit. Holly has been teaching a college class at nights, so for a couple of nights a week it has been just the two of us (Andrew went to summer camp for a month, so it was just Rob and I), and I have really enjoyed the quality time. While I can’t say that there have been deep conversations with Rob (he’s nine), it has really been a lot of fun having the one on one time.As I mentioned above, our eldest, Andrew went to sleepover camp for the last four weeks, and we brought him back home last Friday. Andrew is 15 now, and will be a sophomore in high school this September. Freshman year of high school was not the easiest time for him this year. Between learning about how to really study and manage his time, girls, wrestling, and all of the other assorted craziness that goes along with being a teenager there were more than a couple of bumps. He hit bottom at the start of the last marking period, and really decided to buckle down and he had to study to pull his grades up. Fortunately for him he was taking classes that were up my alley, physics and algebra, and I spent a lot of time helping him with his homework. He also didn’t have any plans for the summer, and right near the end of the school year we found the camp that he ended up going to, which gave him something to do. This was a huge turnaround for him.At camp he worked with people with Autism, and also spent quality time with people his age that shared a lot of the same interests that he has. When we picked him up last week, you could see a change in him (it took a day or so to see it because he came home and slept for 16 hours). His grades also took a huge jump in the last marking period, and saved his year.So as a bit of a reward, I took Andrew to Washington, DC for a couple of days this week, and I am not sure who had a better time, him or me. For him, he got to see a bunch of things at the museums and monuments, and spend one on one time with his dad. For me, I got to spend time with a young man whose maturity is just blooming, who is inquisitive and wants to learn about things.I think I got the better end of the deal.
---By Steve Friedland
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He currently serves as the ASLRRA representative to the AAR's Wireless Communications Committee and is chairman of the joint AAR-ASLRRA Short Line Information Improvement Committee. He also is a member of the ASLRRA's board of directors.
Steve Friedland is a child of the railroad industry. Following summers and vacations working on the track gang for the family-owned Morristown & Erie Railway, a 42-mile New Jersey short line, he started full-time in 1994. He has worked in all areas of the railroad, including track, mechanical, signals, and operations, and currently is a member of the management team for the company as director of operations in Morristown, N.J. In 1999, he founded Short Line Data Systems, a provider of railroad EDI and dispatching software, AEI hardware, and management consulting to the short line industry. He currently serves as the ASLRRA representative to the AAR's Wireless Communications Committee and is chairman of the joint AAR-ASLRRA Short Line Information Improvement Committee. He also is a member of the ASLRRA's board of directors.