They run late. They break down. I hear of friends who have pleasant experiences riding Amtrak--those are rare occasions for myself. Nope. I think the glamour and romance of travel by rail is dead. It sounds good on paper--especially for those easily taken by the nostalgia-- but its unreliability makes it seem suited only for retirees that don't have any particular place to be at any specific time. Yet, it's uncomfortable as well. Who could stand to be on these vehicles for more than a few hours as they rock people off balance? Seniors? Doubt it. I really don't know.
But as I said, it may only be the trains I'm on.
Last Thursday I was on a three hour train ride to San Diego. I was nearing my destination and sent my friend a text. Could it be? Finally a nice train ride with no problems. Well just as soon as I'd hit "Send" my train broke down. Followed shortly with the engineer running up and down the aisle, stopping to crank away at a lever between cars. A woman on vacation here in SoCal (from one of the boring States) stopped to chat me up. "Do you think they'll tow my car? My metered parking will expire soon." Lady, how the hell should I know. I politely said instead, "You might get ticketed first. Then towed later. Don't worry. We should get moving soon."
We were between stations. Very pretty, but I saw that sun fading fast. I started thinking about the ending in Unbreakable. (I'd post the video but as with every Shyamalan film, it's all about the ending.) I thought: it could be worse. Hm. Anyway, here are some photos I took on my ride to pass the time...
snack
stuff + flowers for my friend
l.a. river
where my train broke down
no one left
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