1. Not a proper train like an across-the-country train: I've ridden subway trains and the fun little trains you see in zoos, though.
2. Ooh, good question. I hate to say it because I have family out there, but I wasn't keen on Kansas over much. It's too flat, you know? Too big. I like a place with trees and hills. But that's just me.
3. When I was growing up, my family used to vacation in this little place called Sunset Beach in North Carolina, right above the border with South Carolina. You could go across a real drawbridge to an island, and we'd stay at this little hotel and then walk to the beach, and on other days we'd go around to different places, and there were restaurants there, one was called Ella's if I recall correctly, and they had the best hush puppies in the whole wide world. I could've eaten those for *DAYS*. The hush puppies you get at the chain restaurants had nothing on those.
I haven't been back in ages, but man, good memories.
When I was a little kid, my Grandma would take me to the train station so we could watch them come and go. I loved trains you see. I told her it was my dream to one day ride them. She told me that some people did that every day.
Two decades later, I rode the same train from the same station, to work each evening. It felt just like you described here, at first. Eventually it became demystified and routine. But oh, those first few months...
Also, I loved the story: the repetition of the ground sweeping past the window line really set the mood. Felt like a metaphor. In the end, aren't we all looking for our own space, in a way?
I've lived in rural/small-town Midwest my whole life (so far), always near family. A few years back I decided to move out to Las Vegas. I figured a change to a big, vibrant city would make my life more interesting.
I 'retreated' home after 6 months. One quote from a podcast I listen to summarized the experience:
"You can be alone in a crowded city in a way you cannot be alone in a small town."
1. Not a proper train like an across-the-country train: I've ridden subway trains and the fun little trains you see in zoos, though.
2. Ooh, good question. I hate to say it because I have family out there, but I wasn't keen on Kansas over much. It's too flat, you know? Too big. I like a place with trees and hills. But that's just me.
3. When I was growing up, my family used to vacation in this little place called Sunset Beach in North Carolina, right above the border with South Carolina. You could go across a real drawbridge to an island, and we'd stay at this little hotel and then walk to the beach, and on other days we'd go around to different places, and there were restaurants there, one was called Ella's if I recall correctly, and they had the best hush puppies in the whole wide world. I could've eaten those for *DAYS*. The hush puppies you get at the chain restaurants had nothing on those.
I haven't been back in ages, but man, good memories.
When I was a little kid, my Grandma would take me to the train station so we could watch them come and go. I loved trains you see. I told her it was my dream to one day ride them. She told me that some people did that every day.
Two decades later, I rode the same train from the same station, to work each evening. It felt just like you described here, at first. Eventually it became demystified and routine. But oh, those first few months...
I rode a legit train for the first time recently so i am glad that seems to be a common first-timer experience!
The freedom to walk around on a long train trip is so fun
Also, I loved the story: the repetition of the ground sweeping past the window line really set the mood. Felt like a metaphor. In the end, aren't we all looking for our own space, in a way?
Hm.
👀
I've lived in rural/small-town Midwest my whole life (so far), always near family. A few years back I decided to move out to Las Vegas. I figured a change to a big, vibrant city would make my life more interesting.
I 'retreated' home after 6 months. One quote from a podcast I listen to summarized the experience:
"You can be alone in a crowded city in a way you cannot be alone in a small town."
Also, great story. Clearly it struck a chord.
So much resonated for me in this piece. Leaving home even as "home regarded all he did with cold judgment "