On the Train

Riding amtrak in New England is like participating in the Italian train experience –  the trains aren’t quite as late, but they are also distinctly less nice ( although i do appreciate the power plug next to my seat).

This really is the way to travel though. I didn’t have to go though security, take off my shoes or even show seventeen types of ID/boarding pass combinations. I just walked on to the train. The drinks are much cheaper too.

Being from Texas  though it’s a bit disconcerting – un four hours I will have gone through four states. I doubt If I could go through four counties at home in that period of time. Seriously, how is Rhode Island not just another county of one of the neighboring states?

The difference from home even is striking, the closer we get to the City the denser things get, all these old buildings with old people in them. The picture on my desktop is this epic shot of the road into Terlingua, with the Chisos basin prominently fixed in the center, while out the window to my right it’s small-windowed houses, aged industrial parks and old mills – remnants of a time when this country made things –  as far as the eye can see. It’s not bad, just different. It’s pretty in parts, quite beautiful, but it’s a very occupied kind of beautiful.

They also talk real funny-like up here.