Good morning,
Travel by train has always seemed to me to be romantic. When one moves from one place to another in this country, one has two basic choices. The first is to experience the journey from a car, down endless paved highways dotted by fast food, motels and tourist traps (mind you, I’m a big fan of driving trips, but they do have their drawbacks…). The second is to move hundreds of miles per hour at 35,000 feet in the air, seeing the country as little more than vast expanses to be avoided as one travels from one point to another. But immersive travel is an adventure that requires that the journey through places one might not have chosen—or even known about—savoring the geographic, geological and cultural differences along the way.
The other day a friend recounted to me his honeymoon, some 41 years ago, during which he took a trip on Amtrak. I’m guessing back then train travel was a tad more romantic than today’s Amtrak. Oh, sure Acela is an efficient way down the Eastern seaboard from Boston through New York and on to Washington. And train travel from Los Angeles to San Diego (and, I understand, north to Santa Barbara and the Central Coast) can be a pleasant short jaunt. Otherwise, long distance train travel is an antiquated system along routes in which it must yield to freight traffic. Hardly the romantic, efficient train travel of Europe.
THE POST-9/11 TRIP
The cross-country routes have romantic names—the Empire Builder, the Pacific Zephyr, the Surfliner, the Lakeshore Limited. I never had taken one until right after 9/11.
I needed to visit Albuquerque on business right after flights resumed after 9/11. Andrea was nervous and asked that I not take a flight. Instead, I figured I’d just drive to Union Station, board the evening train and arrive in Albuquerque in late-morning the following day. I booked a sleeper car, had a drink at the station and boarded.
MY FELLOW PASSENGERS
The train was nice enough. The compartment was clean. Dinner was served and guests were seated together, as they arrived. The people were nice enough and I began to wonder, “who takes long distance trains?” This one made a long stop in Albuquerque and then went to Chicago in a little over two days. One of my dining companions indicated he was changing trains in Chicago and going all the way to Washington, D.C. As I walked around the train after breakfast, I discerned who my fellow travelers were:
Older folks with time on their hands and just traveling about
Train aficionados, who had books marking sites keyed to mileage markets and who knew everything there was to know about trains and train travel
European students, whom I suspect were surprised this wasn’t the American equivalent of a Eurail Pass…
John Madden types who refuse to travel by air
The trip was great and quite a slice of Americana. I toured the properties in Albuquerque and the broker volunteered to drive me back to the train station. I indicated I’d rather go to the airport. He said “what about your wife and the promise not to fly to Albuquerque?” My answer: “First, she’s not here. Second, I’m not flying to Albuquerque—I’m flying to LA.”
Much as the train ride was an experience I’m glad I had, I didn’t need to have it both ways…
For a fascinating view of all the abandoned railroads in the United States: https://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2020/01/americas-abandoned-railways.html
ARE ALL DESCRIPTIVES REALLY WELCOME TO THOSE BEING DESCRIBED?
We all struggle in our current moment to recognize people for who they are and attempt to use identifiers that acknowledge their heritage. This should trump the interests of others to define people to satisfy a different sensitivity. One group that is difficult to define properly is those of Spanish/Latin/Hispanic descent. I have always assumed that most Latinos are happy with Latino or Hispanic. I am told, however, that many in the elder generation prefer to acknowledge the Spanish heritage of “Hispanic” (although Universities and intellectuals seem to prefer “Latino”).
Now, we have a “new” way of defining Latinos—one that apparently is not widely accepted by Latinos themselves. Because the word “Latino” is male, the far left has been pushing the term “Latinx” in its stead. The only problem is that Latinos don’t want this name imposed by them, even if it is an attempt by the woke to define that group so as not to offend nonbinary people. Only two percent of Latinos identify as “Latinx.” Forty percent are actually offended by the term. The same poll found that 68% prefer the term “Hispanic.”
“The reality is there is very little to no support for its use and it’s sort of seen as something used inside the Beltway or in Ivy League tower settings,” said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), in explaining that the group is dropping the term.
I think we need to listen to people and use the words they prefer and that are consistent with the words (and word construction) of their culture and language. An interesting article on the subject:
Have a great day,
Glenn
From the archives:
Very funny about your train ride. For work, I finally started riding the train down to San Diego and back because the driving started to get to me. I liked it. On the way down, I worked; on the way up I read. As a little girl, we used to take the train from Dayton, Ohio to Maine for camp. It was fun seeing all the kids as they got on. I finally told mom and dad that I would rather fly! I got my wish.