Once On A Blue Moon!

I’ll have to say, the build up to one of these rare events, this Blue Moon, on the eve of a fresh decade, was inspiring, in and of its self! I’ve been on a train, a metaphor, but not, sitting back, reflecting, on some level, I see this journey as more. You see, I rolled through, into this fresh decade, 2010, with the force of a freight train. The train ran right on time, I was at the place, I had planned to be, a bit North of Mt Shasta, at the stroke of midnight. There was no dropping of the Crystal Globe, I believe however, the Screaming Monkey, much more meaningful, marking movement, out from under a less than perfect start of a new century. Boarding Amtrak in Portland, I said to the Conductor,” party on the train tonight”, boy I got a dirty look. I tried to assure him, told him I was an old guy, I smiled, let him know with me, not to worry. Sometimes, things just seem to work out, it was a long walk to my car, told by the Conductor, the back of the train, in high gear, I made my way. Not my first BAR BQ, I know what back means, I was stopped, about three cars short of the back, told to go to the back of the line, and wait. Always easy to get along with, as I watched others continue on, I bit my tongue a bit, and waited. Sometimes, things just seem to work out right, I get assigned a seat, a window, I settle in, a guy I had seen walking, beyond, the location where I had been stopped boarding, greets me, the gentleman with the Kangaroo skin hat, a Chicken Farmer, is assigned the seat next to me. Had he been stopped, been told to move to the back of the line and wait, this interaction may never have occurred, from Portland to LA, my travel Compadre, a Chicken Farmer. This day of the Blue Moon began, with a snow ball fight in Whitefish, we were running a little late, the train had come to an emergency stop earlier, someone crossed the tracks. My Ad sense account, came to an emergency stop as well, as I’ve made my journey west. The train took a while to get moving again, the crew had to check the tracks, the wheels, make sure none of the cars were derailed. I am hoping, what’s going on with Google, and my Ad sense account, is the same, that there checking the tracks, seeing that nothing is derailed. Miles, the Chicken Farmer, was not the only farmer, I rode with on the train, Molly got on the Empire Builder, hands down, the finest run train, of the Amtrak Fleet, in Minneapolis, St. Paul. I don’t know what it is, about hooking me up with farmers, but you know, looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I told her I was a cuddler, she didn’t know what to think, I eased her fears, just trying to let her know, in my own subtle way, that I was convinced, we could enjoy each other, on the ride to Portland. On these long distance trains, in a way, you become room mates, with the person your seated with. Your car, on some level, becomes your neighborhood, each car, in abstract, a different town. I don’t know what was up with Lawrence, our attendant, the Mayor so to speak of our neighborhood, I’m not being truthful, I got his story, a Brother Carpenter, from a Milwaukee Local, retired, he takes a lot of pride in his work! It appears, I was not alone, making friends, establishing relationships, on the approaching Blue Moon, I am hearing about Katies’ adventures, hanging out around the neighbors homes, as I was away. You have to know the players, if your gonna read about the game, I met up with Christopher, a Park Ranger on the High Desert of Oregon, hey Chris, if your reading this, send a comment, send me a way to contact you, somehow, the email address I have for you, got confused, it does not work! Anyhow, we first talked, while waiting on our west bound train, at the Chicago Caribou Coffee Cafe, Union Station. We both had a long wait, about 6 hours, we rode up on the same train, out of Pittsburgh, a poorly run train, hands down, undeniably, the worst train in the entire Amtrak Fleet. Saying this, riding this train several times over the years, not once has my experience been good, this trip, the car attendant, Emanual Mason, had the personality of a Red Squirrel. Take a little time, read a little bit about the Red Squirrel. They’re grumpy, they don’t do well with their own kind, not to social an animal, throughout their lives there loners, the world benefits!