The Zen Train from Albany Park

Arrived at Albany Park station this morning just in time to catch the 8.02 into town.

Albany Park, mercifully deserted

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. 🙂