The Train Ride

The train snakes through a tunnel and over a hill, passing vast countryside after countryside. Various scenes and diverse settings whizz by. A huge expanse of the tallest trees but this is no jungle. A sheep farm with a small flock feeding. No sheep dog or shepherd in sight. Another empty land except for a lone pony grazing in the afternoon sun. More trees as if the tracks had been deliberately constructed through these woods. How old were these railway tracks anyway? Older than the trees no doubt. Some of the tree branches distorted and ugly like the deformed arthritic fingers of an old maid. Their leaves so alive and green in contrast, as if freshly painted by the hand of God. A farmer out on an old tractor in a wheat field overgrown with tall grass-like stalks. Nearby lies a small settlement, a town of sorts, with a pet shop sign and a public library; Randolph-Macon college sitting majestically in neat and tidy grounds. High above, clouds float by; light and white and free. A trail disappears into the thickness of trees. The train bumps along an uneven portion of railroad, riding well beyond the green surroundings reflecting a golden hue from the warm sunlight. Earth rises above the tracks as a hill of dirt, the train seeming to be in a valley for a moment. Houses are dotted about the scene, and the skyline becomes visible once more. Tell-tale signs of man's intrusion exist in the graffiti on a wall arch erected for some unknown purpose. Another trail. Another settlement. Thoughts drift to what might lie on the other side of the clearing. A sand quarry comes into view and the next plot houses stacks of hundreds of wooden crates and aluminum-coloured sacks. What sort of creatures lived here? Intriguing. Snakes, wild rabbits, possums and skunks, maybe ... This was the eastern part of the country and progressing northward, memories of history book descriptions surfaced. How harrowing were such journeys in the 1880s - fear of robbers and the unknown in spite of exuberant excitement of hopes, and dreams of a clean slate and a new life. Yes, a feeling familiar begins to well up inside. Life has been a distressing journey in recent times. A journey nonphysical, yet the fears and risks have been all too real. Reverie of life in the 1880s strikes a chord, evoking a gut-deep sense of hope. Personal dreams vividly emerge, one after another. A clean slate and a new life ... yes, life is a risky yet necessary journey. Years of lethargy melt away, leaving, at last, exuberance and excitement bubbling forth from a fountain within the soul ... a well-spring of life energy restored.