forest gump

i love taking the train to and from dc. i'll admit i was complaining as i got ready this morning that i had to spend so much time traveling for just one meeting, but i really do love trains. i can't imagine how much homework i would get done if i had a two hour train ride every day to sit and read. shoot, i'd have time to read for pleasure too.

on my way back from dc today i sat next to a guy that loved trains as much as bubba loved shrimp in forest gump. the kid, from macon, georgia, even talked like gump. we were parked at union station, not even moving yet, and the kid goes, "look at that train! it's come all the way from chicago!" i looked up from my book and smiled, "are you from chicago? how do you know?" he responded, "i'm not from chicago. i just love amtrak." (he actually specified amtrak as he pointed to the amtrak lanyard around his neck.) he then went on to tell me all the places he had been via train in the past few weeks and months. "do you never fly places?" i asked. "the only way you'd ever catch me on a plane is shackled, bound and gagged," he said with big dramatic eyes. it was hard not to laugh. especially considering he was probably in his early 20s.