Counting the Long Train

By: Maggie Hess

Narrated by: Bradford S Beadle Sr.

I live pretty near the train station, its tracks, and the yard. As a driver or a pedestrian, I have been known to wait, counting the cars that squeal on by. There is a Zen to counting the long train that slows the heart rate just a bit as different vandalized cars of steel pass along. It feels something like counting laps in the pool, at least to me, since it takes such a long time and you just end up with some number. One time, I counted up to 99, and there were a few more cars, but I lost track then. Were there three or four, totaling 102 or 103? I'd never know.

Counting train cars is akin to counting a herd of slow moving elephants or giraffes, some creature of wildlife in the African safari certainly. But for me, there are other dimensions now that I am working for the people who drive the conductors.

©2018 Maggie Hess (P)2018 Maggie Hess