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the prisoner, the robin, the officer (and birthday girl),
the sundrop, the devilish |
To celebrate one of my girlfriends’ birthday we took an Amtrak train ride from Birmingham, AL to New Orleans, LA for Halloween weekend. Costumes in tow headed to Bourbon Street, we tore up the town. Well, we watched as others tore it up and jumped in every once and a while like double-dutch. The entire trip took us about 36 hours (round trip). I assumed it would be an amazing time of girlfriends chatting it up about boys and babies, painting our nails, giggles, fun, dancing, eating, very little sleep… (and it was!!). But what I didn’t expect was to be so moved by seeing the south in such a moving way from my Amtrak window. We boarded the train while being assisted on by a gentleman with his hand out as we stepped onto a small bright yellow stool onto the train. I felt like such a lady. “Make a right and take a seat anywhere…” we were instructed. The seats were comfy, much larger than an airplane, they reclined with a mini lazy boy type extension and a foot rest. The conductor came to our car and announced “Welcome aboard!” I thought surely he could do that using an overhead speaker, I mean it is 2011. But I grew to enjoy his announcements along the way. He would explain that Amtrak has very little train tracks of its own and had to share with freight train tracks so we might be a little behind schedule. (I couldn't help but think about Denzel Washington's movie Unstoppable...uh oh...). He told us about the snack car, dining car, business center area, game areas and available restrooms.
He also told us about the towns we’d pass through with a little history every now and then. One of my favorites was Moundville, AL. Although we passed it too fast for me to snap a picture, I did get to see these huge beautiful mounds (ranging from three to 57 feet high) strategically place and sitting on top of the open fields like big green Legos.
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| Moundville, AL |
They seemed so out of place but very interesting. The conductor said that they were sites of Indian villages and burial grounds. I quickly jotted a few notes down so I could Google later. Moundville was a very large population and a thriving city for its time. The mounds were centers for religious and political activities. But no one is quite sure how the use of these beautiful structures ended. Geesh! I really wanna know what happened.
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| Meridian, MS |
We also saw some very old train stations that seem to just pop up. We’d slow down, pick up a passenger or two and then keep moving. It reminded of old movies where ladies wore tailored dresses and gloves, and men wore suits to travel in and sat on the train sipping tea or whiskey. It was poetic. Meridian, MS even had an old train as historic relic right near the station where we stopped for more passengers and a smoke break.
Tuscaloosa, AL was hard to witness. We could still see the path of the tornados that recently hit the city that left trees uprooted and homes without roofs. It was humbling and painful. But in a matter of seconds we were back to beautiful views of fall foliage, small streams and ponds and sunshine. It was like a watching an old silent film leaving any description and conversation to our imagination.
Finally, NOLA. Homes on cinder blocks and cemeteries with graves above the ground, again another moment, time, terrain and people. And even though Bourbon Street was all about celebrating and partying, again the mix of people, costumes, messages, languages and accents gave us all another opportunity to accept others, be free in our own choices but respecting the variety of thought and expression. This experience reminded of times changing, devastation and rebuilding, differences and similarities. It’s all a part of life that we share and get to experience. I was born and raised in the south but this train ride gave me the opportunity to see my home in a new light. It also reminded me to be open-minded and look for beauty, good, lessons and inspiration in the familiar and the new. Looking forward to my next Amtrak train ride…..
