1.11.12 I Hear That Train A Coming

This morning as I left my house, the railroad warning was clanging away, so rather than take my usual route and get stuck waiting for the train, I headed onto the bridge that cuts over the railroad tracks. That clanging train warning made me think of Johnny Cash and this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsuVuw5JO4


When I reached the top of the bridge, I watched the train below heading eastward, as seen in the picture at left. On the right side of the train, you can see the northern edge of De La Salle High School's football field. I'm not sure whether or not I've mentioned the fact that there is a high school on the island. The school is tucked right behind the iconic Grain Belt Beer sign that I've written about in previous posts, and the Hennepin Bridge runs right past the front of the school. In fact, when I'm heading downtown or other points west, the best way off the island is through the high school's parking lot and up a ramp that takes you right onto the westward lanes of the bridge--very convenient. When I ran across to the other side of the bridge to see the rear section of the train, I was a bit too late. The picture below is all I got to see, as the last of the train had already scooted underneath the bridge and was well on its way.

I am thankful for the loud clanging warning that sounds every time a train is approaching, which often helps me avoid taking a route that leaves me standing, or sitting in my car, in front of the guard rail waiting for the train, which can take as long as ten minutes to pass. Some of these trains are extremely long.

This morning's walk, like yesterday's, was pretty unremarkable. I walked with purpose and did not take any detours or dilly dally along the way. I exchanged hellos with a jogger and a dog-walker. I exchanged a hello with a fellow walker on the west side of the island, only to encounter her again on the east side as I neared home. This latter point where I encountered her was when I was just far enough along to see the guard rails come down by the tracks and yet another train just beginning to cross the island. Sheesh! A train to mark my departure and another to herald my return! Guess I'd better head back over to the bridge, I thought and even remarked to my fellow walker, thought I don't think she caught my meaning. I cut through the south side of the high school's football field and headed back over the same bridge I had started out on.

I think this is a fine example of the occasional concidences of symmetry we experience in life--like running into the same person returning from work that you ran into that same morning when setting out for work. Sometimes we don't even notice those little coincidences, and yet somehow, in a small way, it seems to me that they set the day apart from other days, imbuing it with a special kind of magic.

While standing on the bridge this morning, I also snapped a picture (below) of downtown Minneapolis. The place where I stood was less that a minute's walk from where I live. The building on the far left, the Carlyle Apartment Building, is quite an imposing sight in the evening, when its tower is brightly illuminated against the night sky. I will try to obtain a good night picture of it sometime soon.

The weather today has begun to cool down, and reports say that we will soon be well below zero. The past few days have been pretty delightful, making it hard to believe it has actually been January in Minnesota. In fact, the entire winter thus far has given me no cause for complaint, and usually by this time of year I am complaining bitterly and daily. Let winter bring what it will now--I will not complain. The arrival of the real cold was inevitable all along, and we have been incredibly fortunate that it has waited this long to arrive.

In my post of January 9th, which was all about PEACE, I included a picture of the peace sign fashioned out of tree branches and adorning the wall of a neighbor's house. Here is a picture of that peace sign taken last night, when it was illuminated:

Pretty cool, huh? From there, we wandered around a little & admired the full moon, high in the southeastern sky. I snapped a picture of it, which didn't come out too badly. It was a nice calm evening, slightly crisp, slightly cool, and perfect for a little walk amongst the quaint streets on our northern end of the island. I hope the bitter cold weather won't last too long--I will miss being able to walk the island in relative comfort.

The last thing I'll share today is a picture of my most recently completed project, another homespun handicraft, much like the bench I made for our entryway--have I shared pictures of that? Hmmm ... I thought I had, but maybe not. Well, yesterday I finished a coatrack I made for our indoor hall, so we would have a place to hang our coats, where they could drip dry when wet and so as to free up space in the small coat closet in our apartment too. I went down to the river one day and picked up a piece of driftwood on the shore (actually, it was a piece of an ordinary 2 x 4 but looked as though it might have washed up on the shore). I cleaned it, sanded it, painted it, and added an assortment of 'coat hooks.'

I've been enjoying the many art projects I've worked on during the time I've lived on the island. I don't know why or how, but one's environment definitely has an influence on one's creativity and productivity, and thus far this island has been a very positive influence for me. I've completed some good works and have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. I believe the island's peace and serenity has filtered into my pores and provided me with a spirit of tranquility that calms my hand as I paint or draw or play my guitar, stills my mind and helps it wander to places where it can find ideas and words for interesting stories and poems. Below is a picture of the bench I made--a very humble effort, but something which I made purely out of necessity, so as to have a place to put down grocery bags or other burdens while opening my door, which is a two-hand job. And also a place to sit and remove wet boots and shoes.

Today's post was a little bit all over the place, but I guess that's okay sometimes. I'm trying to enjoy my days on the island as much as possible before I start work again, which will probably be within the next few weeks. My daily routines will undoubtedly change after that point, and who knows when or how I will continue to maintain this blog after working all day Monday through Friday. But where there's a will there's a way, and I suspect I'll manage somehow. The train seems to keep a rollin' day after day, and with any amount of luck, I'll keep a rollin' a while yet too.

Life flows on, in and around us--and sometimes it rolls right past us, or straight into us, like a train, if we aren't paying attention to where we're going and what we're doing.

D.E.S.