A TRIP TO NOWHERE

Where was she? We were supposed to be catching the 8:40 train to Manhattan. Well, not exactly Manhattan but Pittsfield. Jeanette said Pittsfield was only a short drive from Manhattan. We’d rent a car and drive from there.

Jeanette didn’t shown but I got on the train anyway.

There seemed to be something wrong with my vision. I could only see seats on the right and they were all taken. I stopped the conductor and asked him if there were any vacant seats. He said, “Right there on your left. And it’s the last empty seat. Suddenly I could see the seats on the left.

Why was I on this train? Jeanette was the one who wanted to take this trip and she wasn’t here.

I took a walk through the cars and came upon a young couple I knew who were going to Manhattan. I suggested joining them. A look of horror crossed their faces. “Just kidding,” I said.

I asked a lady passenger how close Pittsfield was to Manhattan. Quite a ways she answered. Would I find a taxi there to take me to Manhattan? Probably not but if I started walking with my suitcase someone might stop and give me a ride. That didn’t sound very promising.

Going back to my seat I found it occupied. Why was I on this train?

The conductor announced Lynnville coming up. I decided to get off and buy a ticket home.

Carrying my suitcase I walked up the driveway toward our farm. The barn had been converted into a large picnic shelter with a cement floor. I wondered what had happened to all the old boards and what had been done with the cattle stalls. The weeds had been cleaned from the around the lake and water was gently lapping against the shore. Someone had hung a swing for two from the huge oak tree so people could swing out over the lake. A large cement frog sat near the tree. How could all these changes have taken place in a few hours?

I glanced up to see my son, Wally, walking out to meet me. I told him he’d done a great job. Just then the alarm clock started buzzing.

Where are Pittsfield and Lynnville anyway?

Rachel Nemitz, February 2011