Tonight I sat facing backwards on our TRAX seats and see about four rows further back from hubby and I is a young girl about 10-11 years old with a pink knit hat on.  She is looking really uncomfortable and even a bit pained.  I see someone has an arm up around her shoulders and then the arm squeezes her tighter towards... then I catch the face.  It is an older man with about a weeks growth on a buzzed head, a very tan face, intense eyes and yes, at the corner of his left eye is the tattoo of a tear drop.  In my day that tear drop tattoo meant time served in prison.  Isn't this guy maybe too old and crusty to be a father?  Why is the little girl so uncomfortable? I catch my hubby's eye and tell him what I am seeing as he is sitting across from me with his back to them.
Hubby says keep watching.
Soon the girl looks like she is going to cry.  Now I want to go back and ask her if she would like to come with me.
  (By the way, shortly after the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, my hubby and I went for a walk through Liberty Park and saw three strangely dressed people at a picnic table in the center of the park.  They were all dressed in white robes.  Two had their faces pretty much covered.  One of the covered ladies sat facing away from the other two and had her head down with heavily slumped shoulders.  We mentioned how odd that looked and should we go talk to them?  We decided we should just leave them alone as there are always odd people at Liberty Park.  Do you know how many times we have kicked ourselves for being so close to saving Elizabeth and we didn't do anything?  It makes me sick every time I think of it.)
   But, I kept watching the man and young girl on TRAX.  Soon the man removes his arm and the girl begins to lighten up.
  When we reach the next stop, hubby walks to the front of the train to memorize the number to call when you see something strange happening on the train.  He comes back getting a good look himself at the suspects.  We both type the phone number into our Iphones.
  "What do you do?" I think.  "Was this just a father and daughter or grandfather and granddaughter out on an innocent adventure?"  "When do you interfere and when do you not?"  I watched and watched them both catching the eye of the man more than once during the entire ride.  He knew I was watching but didn't seem concerned.  I only needed one more negative sign to convince me that I should jump in and save this girl.
 But the young girl now was laughing and the man had pulled some food out of a pack from the seat in front of them. The girl munched and talked and seemed happy enough.
 We eventually left the train but they stayed on.  And as we passed by them to get to the door, I noticed the man had his feet up on the seat like he was blocking her in but neither one seemed jumpy or nervous in any way.
I hope they have fun where ever they are going, but deep inside I have an ache sensing they are on their way to the homeless shelter.