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Friday, April 27, 2012

railroads

Tonight me and Evie  decided to do a "free-write" (writing non-stop) for 5 minutes.  It may not seem long but when your mind is blank it can be hard.  We chose the subject of railroads... my writing was rather mundane, but here it is.


When I think about railroads I see my cousin Ed walking on the tracks, in Suffern.  His dog smelling around, not too far from him.
I think about trains, and the sounds of trains, whistling in the night.  It's a lonesome sound... And the people riding in the cars, often solitary themselves, with bags or business by thier side.
Railroads bring to mind traveling circuses, and scenes from Water For Elephants - the book, not the movie.  The cars carrying the performers and the ringmaster in the best cars, and the real behind the scenes workers sharing shabby quarters.
Railroads bring to mind photography, because I've seen so many photos of the rails.
The one that I have is of my cousin walking along with his dog.

(It's a scanned photo, very faded from years of age)





10 comments:

  1. Wow Babs, I remember those tracks behind Avon in Suffern. Those were freight line tracks and I used to like to go there and put pennies on the track. About 5 pm every day a long freight train would come thru with many box cars, some with names from far off places, that made us want to hop on to see where we'd end up. I never got the nerve though, always remembering the story of the kid who tried to hop the train behind 61st street who slipped and lost his legs. But I could dream about the far off places it would take me in an America that no longer exists and pick up the flattened penny as it receded in the distance heading west. The picture may be old but in my opinion its a good shot with the weathered tracks in the foreground. Wooden rail road ties are becoming a thing of the past now that they use concrete. Thanks for thinking of me in that context.

    On a sadder note, this week I lost one of my all time favorite artists, Levon Helm, formerly of the Band and I urge anyone to go to utube and listen to his version of Annie Lee from Ramblin at the Ryman. Absolutely haunting. I geuss it evokes the same type of place and feeling one might get hearing a freight whistle in the distance. Real old time America...

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    1. Hey, Ed, good to see you and thanks for dropping by. Your writing is always inspiring. I remember those days well.
      Sad about Levon Helm; I will go listen to the tune you reccomended.
      Love you.

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  2. I love that you and Evie have such creative adventures together. I've been so completely uninspired lately in all creative areas. Maybe I need a crafty friend to get me back in business.

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    1. Thanks, Leek. Yea, it helps to have someone to push you a little, ya know?
      Hey, did you get my email (sent to yahoo address) about the temporary place in lieu of Cups being down? If not let me know.

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    2. I do know. All of the girls in my knitting group have moved away, one by one, over the last year or two. I was much more productive when someone else was keeping track of what I was working on. :) I did not get the email. The address you used was likely an old one. If you could, please re-send to mommyleek at gmail dot com. I'd appreciate catching up with the forum again. :)

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  3. Great post! Enjoyed reading it.

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  4. Nostalgia Railways.
    Now, are Junatkin new - electric trains.
    Built for speed ...
    In spring, Greetings, Eco
    Finland / Lapland / Kuusamo

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  5. cool thing to do. I like the old look on the shot. :)

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  6. i think this is great! and the photo of your cousin and his dog is perfect. you captured it all, barbara


    kj

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  7. I beleive it is very healthy to carry out such exercise ....who knows you may have a chance to recall some sweet and memorable event. I must admit that I have such a wonderful experience, that is the main driver for me to post more frequents in several of my blogs.

    Thanks for your recent visit and continuously supports, which I know of last for number of years. Right?

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