boy howdy, me too.
I have been known to hop a Rock Island freight car, ride it a few miles out, then hop out where they slowed and walk back down the rails... putting pennies on the track on the way back to pick up next time.
When I was 12, i started going into the city by myself, even walking into screwed up hoods’. By that time, i developed a radar or street sense so i could deal with different types of people in odd situations. The next year, I stopped taking the school bus as most of the clowns I rode with were a-holes whom I always got into fights with. Public transportation is a snapshot of society and perfect training ground for kids to see what they will face in the real world.