Intimations

Day 4

Though it is mid June in Texas, I have been wearing a hat and sweatshirt every morning. I recommend such attire for bus and train riders. My reasons at this time are the excessive rain our state has been blessed with. I am not sure exactly why, but an umbrella isn't an option for me. It's silly, one would have come in handy a few times this week, but I would rather let the rain be–do it's thing and I'll take minimal shelter by way of hat and sweatshirt. I feel raw and connected. An umbrella would make me feel like an old lady.
And, a hat is just as handy in the scorching sun as in rain.

Rule # 6: Bring a hat. It's handy in all weathered situations.

Day 3

Rule #5: The bus smells like piss and sweat.

Unfortunately that is all I have learned today.

Day 2 Part 2 - Later that afternoon.

These are the lonely moments. You sit on the train with a thousand other people you don’t know and who are probably just as lonely as you. So you call your friend. But all you get is her recorded voice and you don’t even have the heart to leave a message. You just sit in your seat and watch the rain wash down the windows. Little rivers of life giving water flow down on the other side of the glass–they can’t reach you where you sit. Instead, the water greens the trees and leaves on the outside while you sit on the inside like a pile of dried bones. It’s your birthday–the day when everyone remembers that wonderful moment that brought you into their lives; a day when you thank God for all the years of life that you’ve made it through relatively unscathed. But really it’s only another rainy train ride on another Tuesday. What’s to celebrate?

Rule #4: Train rides alone on rainy afternoons can be very lonely (listening to melancholy music doesn’t help).

Day 2

My punctuality has improved. Today I arrived precisely in time for the train, which dropped me off with just enough time to walk directly onto the bus. Our bus ride was met with a little rain (merely a refreshing shower and no real inconvenience). I arrived at the building of the days employment with 45 minutes to spare; thus:

Rule #2: Be prepared for large amounts of free time.

I believe that this reality of public transport must be one of the chief reasons for the habit of so many Europeans (as they use public transport so much more that we do) and our less money laden–that is that waiting for trains and buses, or arriving at one’s destination 45 min early directly promotes smokeing. However, it certainly does not give one time to smoke a pipe, or a cigar, but only cigarettes. And that’s that.

On the healthier side, it also allows for reading and contemplation. These two employments, being among my favorites, also go well with smoking. I fear that I must include this double sided reality in my understanding of my current project.

(*note: my morning reading of Pride and Prejudice has directly influenced the language of this entry.)

I must include a 3rd rule in today’s findings

Rule #3: opportunity for community and conversations.

On the bus ride I sat near 2 African-American gentlemen. One was a TCU student on his way to class, the other was an older, and hard working man. We were thrown into brotherhood when we looked out the wide windows of the bus at the ensuing rain. We eyed each other with rueful smiles and comments about preparing to get wet. The student and I joined in even deeper comradeship as we left the bus and hiked side by side through the summer drizzle, comforting each other with statements about how it could be so much worse.

You, my gracious reader, must be inspired by how much I have learned between the hours of 6:46 and 8:14 merely by the use of a different kind of travel.

(for a look at a different side of the Metroplex, check out these videos taken from my train window:

Download Train.one.3gp

Download Train.two.3gp

Day 1 - Letting Go

When the train schedule says a specific time, it means it. I missed my train this morning by 2 min and was forced to wait 20 min for the next.

Rule #1: The train/bus decides when you sit, stand, wait, or get going.

“Letting Go.”
After my class this afternoon, I rushed to the bus stop only to wait 15 minutes (luckily it had only just stopped raining). I kept squinting my eyes and peering down the street to see if the bus was coming–thus engaging in a human instinctual behavior that is a direct disavowal of reality–it didn’t make the damn thing move any faster. I started to worry that the bus would come late making me miss the train forcing me stand at the train station for 20 min and possibly end up at my next destination too late. Oh, the anxiety! I started to think that this whole “saving the environment one train ride at a time” was a stupid idea–it was going to give me high blood pressure. The train came regardless of my impatience and guess what? I got to the train station right on time.

Relinquishing control is hard for any guy who has almost always had life by the steering wheel. I’m looking forward to snuggling into new enjoyments as I learn to let go.

Pre-experiment calculations

This is the pre-experiment calculations and preparations for my civic experiment, which consisted of a daily train and bus ride from Irving to Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth.

(the following numbers are a comparison of factors between private and public transportation)

total distance = 39.8 mi

Private transport costs:
Time = about 50 mins
Gas =  2.65 gallons/day
Total Cost = $7.95/day - $39.8/week - $2,069/year

Public transport costs: 
Time = 1 hour
Gas (to and from train station) = $3.00
Tolls = $2.30
Train ticket = $3.00
Bus = $2.50
*Total cost = $10.80/day - $54/week - $2808/year

*note: this price is higher than actuality. Train tickets can be used when transferring directly to the bus depending on your driver, thus cutting the price by $2.50/day.

Motivations for experimentation:
- Environmental issues, i.e. "Carbon footprint." What do I do in my daily life that is helping to prevent or    curb global warming?
- My car doesn't have working air conditioning.
- Trains are cool.
- Traffic is SO annoying!
- I wanted something interesting to write about that related to my immediate surroundings, my "place" if 
you will.

Prologue to a Train blog

This is America. I have a car and money enough to pay for gas (not bragging, just trying to make a point). I do not have to ride the train. But in spite of my life’s comfortable circumstances, I decided to experiment with less convenient modes of transportation. I was subjected to a certain work related training at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth thus giving me the perfect opportunity to perform my experiment. I would drive to the station at DFW airport (about 12 min from my house), take the train to down town Ft. Worth, and take a bus directly to TCU. No sweat. The following blog posts are taken from my “public transportation journal.” It is a record of my experience and what I learned.

ASLE

In 6 hours Thoseawake will be heading to South Carolina for the 2007 ASLE (Association for the study of Literature and the Environment) conference. Check in here or at thoseawake.com for updates on what we are doing and learning. It should be a great experience.

Standing in the deep places.

Here I am, standing deep inside "The Narrows," the canyon in Utah that I spoke of last post.
Let this picture figure for something that I want to do more of. Standing in a deep place like this is hard enough, but getting there is the true test. Test of strength, test of will. It is much to easy to wast time. Especially where I am. I go to these christian youth camps where it is my job to play guitar, hang out with random groups of students, and act goofy with my band mates. Each day is completely random in schedule and full to the brim with possibilities. To find a quiet place alone that is conducive to deep reading and reflection is difficult. One might say, but that is where growth happens! How are you at a christian camp and yet unable to find an environment of spiritual growth?!? And I might respond, good point.

Yet I will not give up so easily. It is in the deep places that I wish to live–literally and figuratively.
God, give me the strength; wake me up.

Out of the West

I actually wrote a great blog about how Michael and I did some crazy hiking and an ungodly amount of driving out in AZ and UT. But it got lost and in my frustration I closed my lap top and went to bed.
Furthermore, I have been unable to successfully get pictures of the trip from Michael. So it has been quite challenging to get motivated to tell about our wonderful time trekking through the desert; which is why this post will be quick and to the point.

I will focus on two main events within the trip.

The first is "The Narrows."
The Narrows is a canyon trail that runs about 10 or 12 miles along the Virgin river in Zion National Park, Utah. As the river runs down stream the canyon becomes narrower and narrower and the river becomes deeper and stronger. This is a strange hike because the trail is the river. And at points the canyon is so narrow that one is forced to wade through chest deep water. Fortunately, the water is crystal clear and refreshing. Though tiring, and even monotonous at times, Michael and I loved the Narrows because it was so secluded. We hardly saw another soul for miles. It was as if we were hiking into the heart of Utah, and it was up to us to make it through, or die trying.

The second is the Navaho desert of Arizona. Our drive to Utah from Tucson brought us through the most desolate place I have ever been to. The desert of northern Arizona is nothing but rocks and dirt. I can hardy imagine anyone, or anything surviving there. Yet there is this road, a highway, that literally cuts right through it. After driving 80 mi/hr for over an hour on that desolate highway that seemed puny compared with its surroundings, we stopped. We stopped at a Navaho Indian's trading post, or souvenir shop–basically a little shack on the side of the interstate near the "Little Colorado River" (which is the river that cuts through the Grand Canyon further up). When we got out of the car, I felt strange, as if something was wrong with that place. I looked at Michael, and he said something to me in barely more than a whisper. That's when I realized that the strangeness of that place was its intense quiet. All we heard was the wind blowing gently across the the desert valley. It was so quiet that we forced to whispers almost without realizing it. I want to say that it was nice, but first and foremost, it was scary. But silence always is when you are first hit with it.

Of course there is more to tell about the trip, but that is all I will say here. However, I will do my best to get some pictures up soon.