Have I ever told you that I take the train everywhere? I don’t have a car, so when I’m traipsing up and down the east coast I’m usually on a train. Sometimes I take the bus to save money, but I still splurge on Amtrak as a gift to myself. The culture of a train is quiet and glorious. I liken it to letter writing (bear with me) in that you’re alone and not alone at the same time. It’s an abstract analogy—I know. On a train you can strike up a conversation with someone briefly then go back to reading your book. You can travel far and wide without the stress of traffic. I highly recommend it if you have a relatively short distance to go, or even if you have a long distance to go and you’re not in a hurry. I’m all about slowing down in life, and taking the train is an ideal way to do that. I just came across a tribute to the train article in the NY Times. Here’s a teaser:

Our consumer society may still rely on trains to transport things, but those things are pitched to drivers in cars, not to passengers on trains. And so, as early as New Jersey, I realized something that would only feel remarkable a few days later, in the Nevada desert: it’s still possible to travel 3,585 miles across the United States without being the target of billboards, golden arches or absurdly large twine balls. The rails offer a view onto Unbranded America — the land as it was.

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