It was only a few weeks ago that I started my new job, but along with the new job came a whole new set of changes, including a busier schedule that cuts into my blogging time. But on the plus side, I finally found an office close to a train station... literally a few steps away! Finally, my burning desire to ride a train was fulfilled once again. The train line here has very limited reach, but the ride is cheap and the parking is free -- you can't beat that!
My train fetish started when I was but a young lad. Many of my friends were fascinated by planes, some by cars and and quite a few loved motorcycles. The long lines at airports and the tiny airplane seats made me hate airplanes. Traffic jams made me hate cars, and driving even more! I grew up in a cold climate most of my life, so motorcycles were also impractical. That's when my attention turned to the ultimate land vehicle -- the train, the boss on land!! The train had its own path laid out and came and went as it pleased, just as I did with my life. Traffic jams never deterred trains since they never run into any real traffic to begin with. And if a train is coming, you better damn well get out of its way! Cars, buses and two-wheelers have to yield to each other. The train has to yield to no one.... because everyone else yields to it! Haven't you ever noticed that there are gated railroad crossings but no gated bus crossings or car crossings?!?! Now that's power, my friends!
When I'm inside a train looking out of the window, I can't help but have a smug chuckle on my face as I look at the rows and rows of cars fighting to get past each other during rush hour. Meanwhile, I coolly pass by them all, stress free and traffic free. Many of these car riders were the same co-workers who would lecture me about the freedom they have driving on their own car and starting to work whenever they wanted. I don't wanna be tied down to a train schedule! It's too dam restrictive. I want my freedom, dammit, they would proclaim profusely. And the very next day, reality would smack them hard in their faces as rows and rows of cars lock up the road, viciously gridlocking these freedom-loving junkies. And yet, they never learn their lesson! They continue to drive to the office, full of road rage, oblivious to the fact that there's a train they can take which arrives every 10-15 minutes.
One of my favorite type of trains is the monorail (above). They ride high above the ground and go about their rounds without getting in the way of traffic. If I was a train, I'd be a monorail -- I just go about my business and get my job done without getting in anyone's way and without letting anyone getting in the way of mine. Would be great to have one in a big city with dense population to ease the traffic problems, right? Unfortunately, Los Angeles didn't think so. Those dumb-asses turned down an offer to have a FREE monorail system put in their city back in 1963, and they've literally and figuratively been paying for it ever since. Way to go, LA -- you proved once again that your IQ is less than that of Forrest Gump!
If a monorail is the type of train I am, then the Maglev (above) is the train I want to be. They are called Maglevs due to the fact that they literally float above the tracks they are on using magnetic levitation. Not only do they hover using magnetism, they also use magnetism to propel the train. These babies go up to 581 km/hr.... and without a motor! Imagine living in Pune and working in Mumbai while having a half hour commute to work every morning! Well..... we can dream, can't we?!?!
So remember folks, be like a train. Set your own track, choose your own destiny, and let no one stand in your way! Oh.... there's my train now, gotta run.
