Train Diaries, Day 2

 

Train Diaries, Day 2.  8/13/25

One of the best things about the train is the conversations you get to have with people you wouldn’t ordinarily sit down to a meal with.  People behave as if they aren’t on the internet (because they’re not! They’re on the train!) On the internet, people say mean things.  And other people click like on the mean things.  And so on until we’re all trying to keep our sanity by using the Plum Village App.  (Side bar about internet trolls:  I heard something on the radio the other day about someone who calls with people who leave mean comments online to ask if they are okay.  I sort of want that job.  Checking in on the trolls.). But back to the train.  I haven’t heard the president’s name uttered aloud even once, which is refreshing.  We talk about other stuff.  I think about other stuff.   

Today I’m wondering where all of the Amish people are going.  Maybe 30% of the coach section of the train is Amish people.  The babies are super adorable in their black bonnets.  

Yesterday, I had lunch with a lovely woman in her late 70’s who recounted the very sad tale of the demise of her 50 something year old daughter a few years ago, after a long battle with bipolar disorder, drug addiction, a brain tumor, and more.  We talked for an hour about complicated grief.  About how the last time she saw her daughter, she had driven her to a dr, appointment,  the daughter stormed out of the car, slammed the door, and a few days later she was found dead in her apartment.  The mother was glad that her daughter, who had been quite unkind and manipulative at the end, was finally at peace in the loving hands of the god she believes in.  So much kindness in her world view.

I also dined with a woman who complained about everything, the train included.  We danced around the topic of the big orange narcissist.  Me:  I wonder if the service decline has to do with how the federal government recently laid off a lot Amtrak employees recently.  Her:  No, they are investing in Amtrak, and building building new rail lines.  Me:  I believe the infrastructure bill [I didn’t say who signed it] allocated $66 billion to Amtrak for improvements, but I’m not sure what’s going on with those projects now.  We both skittered away from the conversation politely, the way you do in person.  

Today I had lunch with a woman and her 9 year old grandson who take a trip together every year.  I asked the boy what his favorite trip has been, and he said this one, which is always a  good answer.  I asked grandma, and she said they had gone to the Ark Encounter in Kansas, a gigantic replica of Noah’s Ark built by the Young Earth Creationists.  The Christian amusement park depicts, among other things, scenes of humans fighting dinosaurs! Who knew? I didn’t talk about the infrastructure bill during our meal.  

That’s it for Day 2.  Chicago soon.