Arrived at Albany Park station this morning just in time to catch the 8.02 into town.
Thursdays and Fridays are my “zany” train days because no one has a clue what train I’ll be on: do I want to be home early? Am I going out late? Am I in need of a lie-in?
Sure, Monday-Tuesday you’ll always find me on the 9.00, and Wednesday I’ll be working from home. But Thursday/Friday…? Jeez, anything could happen.
So I moseyed on down the stairs just as the 8.02 pulled in and grimaced: Dang. Busy train, and only looking busier and busier as the carriages sailed past.
“Shoot,” I thought, “gonna have to get me to the far end of the platform where it’s emptier.”
But even the end carriages, crafty stand-by of the experienced commuter, were packed. “This is gonna be no fun at all,” I sighed, contemplating the wall of suited bodies bursting forth from the now-open doors.
And then a voice spoke: Sit down, Stu, it said, relax; wait for the next one: read your book, listen to some music, watch the sunlight descending the side of the railway cutting.
So I did.
And ten minutes later, when a half-empty train rolled in, I sat down and carried on relaxing, reading my book, listening to some music and watching that dazzling sun climb the sky all the way into town.
And I was as one with the tracks. 🙂
