All (a)bored.

If there is one thing I am not very good at doing, it’s sitting and waiting. I am sure there are many people who are just like me, and thankfully right now my computer has “juice” so I can continue writing “Snap. Shot.”

Today we are having one of our summer storms; how bad is it? There are tornadoes dancing around the Chicago area (as we have learned through our Blackberry’s and iPhone’s) thunder and lightning is flashing and crashing all around us, and all the while we are stuck on this train in the middle of nowhere. We have been on it for more than an hour, and the only reason I know how long it has been, is due to an automated voice that keeps apologizing for the train delay “due to weather.” She has no idea what we are going through---when she recorded the message she was probably nice and dry in sunny San Diego or some place like that.

So here we sit. Fortunately the train today is not crowded; there have been times when people have had to stand for the ride home. Not a big deal until the train ride you are expecting to last 20 to 25 minutes suddenly has a one or two in front of it. I suspect we will have this tonight. If the delay is not bad enough, I am hungry because I had a light lunch.

Long ago, and it’s probably a good thing they are no longer part of the “train experience,” they used to have “bar cars” in the middle of the train. Bar cars were the popular way to have a drink before you "had a drink" when you got home. (These were the "Mad Men" days.")We also had cars where you could smoke cigarettes. One time I mistakenly sat with someone I knew in the smoking car, I don’t think my suit was ever the same; but that was then, and today we sit with nothing to do but play with our Blackberry’s that keep losing their signals, wait for the automated voice to tell us how late we are, and wonder why there is no food on board this train.

The photo above was taken in Ohio a few years ago. This storm had passed through Chicago earlier in the day---I was able to live through it twice as I flew from West to East. The clouds were huge, and best of all, they looked great approaching the barn—I am sure they passed through the area quickly, probably a lot faster than our train is moving right now.

Thanks for stopping by.