Well today (9/3/08) is the day I finally head back to Colorado. I had one of the best times of my life in Wisconsin, but now it is time to return home. If you like, join me on my retelling of my 1,000 mile train trip. To start off the day, my brother-in-law Matt, dropped me off at the train station at 9:30 for my 11:30 train. I pretty much just sat and read the Catcher in the Rye, until a thuggish looking guy around early 20's came up to me as i was texting on my phone. He asked me if he could use my phone. I let him use it several times and he kept talking to several people trying to get them to pick him up. Finally I asked him what the problem was, and he said he was kicked out of a car and needed to get to Appleton, but he needed another $4 for his bus ticket. So I got change and gave it to him. He used my phone several more times and probably for a total of 10 times. It was fun talking to him. He finally left and got on the bus, leaving me by myself again to read more of the Catcher in the Rye.
The ride to Chicago was pretty quick, but when I got to the station my mom wanted me to go straight to my gate even though it was two hours till departure. Instead I went and explored. Bought a Men's Health Magazine, USA Today, Jalapeno Chips, and a Muscle & Fitness Magazine at the stores. On the cover of Muscle & Fitness was Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Viking's running back. Last night I watched the Packers win a great game against the Vikings. I really liked Aaron Rodgers, or as I like to call him A-Rodg. I think he did a great job for taking up the mighty #4's position as leader of the green and gold, and not letting that kind of pressure get to him.
I began to think about how I would be seated on a train for 24 hours dawned on me and I could almost feel the fat pack on my stomach. I would sit still and the only muscle I would use would be my adductor pollicis (thumb muscle) to turn the pages in my book and magazines. So after going through this in my mind I decided to do whatever exercise I could before boarding the train. So I ran up and down the stairs a few times just to get myself moving. I knew I would barely move my joints for the next day and this would really help me not get tight and uncomfortable. Felt a lil weird, but it was fun doing whatever I wanted. After the run I realized it was close to boarding time so I got to my gate just as everyone began to stand up to board. But unfortunately we remained standing for 30 minutes because of delays.
On the train I picked what I thought was a good seat, but a family with a little boy sat in front of me. I didn't see them sit down, but as soon as I heard the little boy make a squeak and a cry, I grabbed my stuff and moved to the back of the train car. After reading the newspaper I decided to explore the train. I went downstairs, but right next to the restrooms was the room where they kept some carry-on luggage. It had the perfect distance between the shelves for dips and it also had a bar for pull-ups. So I got my workout in several times on the trip down in that room, till I came down the next day when the door was closed and the sign said authorized "personnel only." I just kept going and went into the restrooms instead.
It was getting pretty late and after talking with Alison on the phone for a while I headed upstairs to go to sleep. I read more of "The Catcher in the Rye", but when it wasn't putting me to sleep I tried to just close my eyes and drift into my dreams. I lay with my eyes closed, but the aisle lights, which were much stronger than they needed to be, kept me up. As I tried getting comfortable in my little chair I probably rotated between seven different positions throughout the night. When I woke up around 2:30 am it was freezing. Not like "Dang, it's a tid bit nippy.", But like "Dang, did I just snuggle with a wet yeti?" cold. I was very tempted to steal the blanket off the elderly couple across the aisle from me. I'm glad I didn't steal from them because the next morning I had a good conversation with them in the dining car. Funny old bunch. The grandma wrote my name down and took a picture of me. She was really sweet though.
The next morning I also had a long talk with a missionary guy. We talked about theology a whole bunch and some books. He told me everything about trains since he used to work for Amtrak. We talked for over two hours and had a great time. He wrote my name down on a note card with about one hundred other names already on there. It was his prayer card. A bunch of people he prayed for. He was a really neat guy and had a great time talking with him.
And the bummer of the trip was when the train had to go a snail's pace because of communication problems causing the train trip to be a 30 hour train ride. Ugh. But when I got off the train it was nice to see my brother and mother waiting there with my name on a paper looking for me. "Hi" I said. Then we went home.
Random thoughts on the train :
-I saw a green Volkswagen Beetle, but I looked around and there didn't seem to be anyone playful enough on the train to take the punch.
- My teeth hurt, not like cavity hurt, but like I got punched in the teeth hurt. I don't know why.
-My granola bar tasted like McFarland.
