I love trains. They keep a pace all their own. The world outside becomes a silent movie interrupted only in passing by the train's own announcement, that ominous wailing, familiar calling. You can watch the world and know that you do not belong to it--you are a traveler and you are merely passing through. It makes so many cliches come alive and soon, you are dreaming, thinking, crafting. Even if it is the first time you have ever done so, you are liable to find yourself, pen in hand, attempting to record the richness of the moment.
Travelling by train is purer than almost any form of traveling we have left today and this is due to the lack of distractions. The walls have no advertisements or even cautions besides the requisite "emergency exit". There is no "in flight movie". No billboards. No tourist shops by the roadside. The closest thing you can find is the dining car; and while they make full use of that to acquire a little more of your money, you are not bombarded with messages. If you let yourself, you can get some real thinking done. Finally, the single biggest distraction you have left is yourself... a lifetime of being told who you are, what you need to be happy, how much that will cost, how much you do not yet have, what happiness looks like and so on.
Trains have been in the background of so much of my growing up; but I have only in the last few years begun to travel by them. I always feel more at home if I can hear the train whistle light up the night like it just might touch the stars. The world feels more familiar, more like the one I believed in when I was little and thought that the adults had everything under control and people only ever hurt each other by accident.
Yes, it's been a lovely break. Highs and lows all mixed into the paint but, regardless, still lovely. Now, for the rest of my life.
