The Beth Lists
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!



​55 Strangers

#52  Strangers on Trains

2/27/2013

0 Comments

 

​A Few Nice Folks on Trains.

I learned to love trains when my family lived in Italy in 1969.  But our family of 6 often had our own compartment, so there wasn't much mingling with strangers.  Instead we often  entertained ourselves with games like Botticelli and tic tac toe.
Picture

​Or We Read Books

Picture
We always traveled with books.  I was 11 and my 7 year old brother, David was a very good audience when I read to him from my Enid Blyton books!


​Carnevale Celebration!

Picture
But one time our family joined some friends on a train for a day trip to the seaside town of Viareggio.  The 6 kids were in one compartment and the adults in another.  We were headed for a festive pre-lent celebration  which meant some of us were in costume and armed with confetti and  plastic bats for bopping strangers. (With good humor) The kid compartment was pretty wound up and giddy by the time a policeman opened the door.  Luckily he just wanted a seat.  His presence subdued us for a while, but before long he was sharing our candy and allowing us to ask him silly questions with the help of an Italian dictionary.  I don't remember his answers, but I do remember some questions.   "Are you happy?" and "Do you swim in the bathtub?" 


​From Michigan to Missouri
​

On another winter day 7 years later, my younger brother and I once again traveled by train... and met strangers.  This time we departed from the lovely old station in Ann Arbor and headed home to St. Louis after the Christmas holiday. 
Picture
We boarded before dawn to find the train already jammed with holiday travelers.   Every seat was taken and the aisles were crowded with luggage.  David and I sat on our suitcases in the unheated space between train cars, until we realized there was a dining car with actual seats and tables!  Not only was the snack bar area warm, but it was alive with the good spirits of travelers who all seemed to have upbeat attitudes about this ridiculous overcrowding.   David and I were invited to squeeze into a booth with others and before long everyone was talking together.  We sat beside some children playing "Battleship" and a sweet older woman who was eating her sack lunch.  The children let us play their game when they were finished and the dear woman insisted we let her give us each a dollar.  She had overheard us worrying over having only $10.00, since it looked like weather was going to cause a huge delay in Chicago.  Dave and I ended up sharing a tangerine and candy bars with a painter from California and we discussed alligators, pollution and poodles with a man from Iowa.  By the time we reached Chicago I remember feeling bonded to these travelers.  I hated saying good bye.
​

Chicago to St. Louis
​

Picture
The storms didn't end up delaying our departure from Chicago.  Dave and I boarded Amtrak and actually found two seats together.  However there was no heat in our car and the temperature was in the teens.  But at least we had seats for the last half of our 12 hour journey.  

Thank you, Train Travelers! 
It was a great experience sharing food, games and conversation with all of you.  If I ever get stuck on a boat, train or plane with some kind of horrible problem like the Carnival Cruise Ship that made news recently...I hope I'm surrounded by strangers like all of you!


0 Comments
    Picture
         FIFTY-FIVE
        STRANGERS

    To celebrate my birthday in April 2012, I decided to reflect on the past with a different kind of list.  I've met a lot of people in my 55 years, but I'm going to stop and remind myself about the strangers I've met.  These are  people I met by accident, not through friends or work.  For some  reason, these  strangers dropped into my life.  Even though we may have only spent a few minutes together, these people have never been forgotten.

    Each week, I'll spotlight  someone I met in the past, who in some small way, made me stop and think.

    MY GOAL: 
    Remember 55 Strangers

    Archives

    April 2016
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    64 Holiday Strangers
    65 Pilot
    66 At Resale Shop
    67 Haunted Singer
    Amish Sisters
    Ann Arbor Street Legend
    Australian Professor
    Author/Scientist
    Bear Rescuers
    British Bus Driver
    Carnival Man
    Cellist In Utah
    Chinese Grandpa
    Clown In Barcelona
    Colorful Cat Woman
    Concertina Playing Surgeon
    Cowboy On A Plane
    Cowboy Poet
    Cruise Princess
    Curious Airport Couple
    Cusco Kids
    Donut Shop Mom
    Firemen
    Flower People
    French Nanny
    Garage Sale Guy
    Guide Named Pinky
    Hari Krishna Woman
    Hoarding Woman
    Hopi Flute Maker
    Junkyard Kenny
    Kind Priest
    Laguna Beach Laundry Man
    Library Man
    Man In A House-truck
    Melon Lady
    Merry Maintenance Man
    Mexican Singer
    Missouri Farmer
    Missouri Guardian Angel
    Museum Guard
    Mystery Nun
    Navajo Vendors
    Oklahoma Storyteller
    Ozark Chair Maker
    Patient Policeman
    Pawn Shop Guy
    Porch People
    Rancher/rodeo Rider/artist
    Rescuers On Snowmobiles
    Sad Dad At Hotel
    Sailor With Bird
    San Francisco Protester
    Santa
    Shark Fisherman
    Singing Computer Geeks
    Snake Boy
    Survivor Of Hurricane Katrina
    Tahoe Rim Hiker
    Tiny Ranch Owner
    Tipsy Strangers
    Train Travelers
    Woman In Pink Feathered Hat
    Wood Cutter

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!