My Personal Log for this week is a bit behind schedule. Imagine that.
Personal Log 20230804
I need to treat these log entries as self-care. IOW, practicing what I preach. I post inspirational memes that say, stop, work on yourself, then I start a three-part blog post on swimming pools for the history blog. Is that self-care? Arguably, but so is taking the time to stop and think. Maybe I’m stressing too much over a couple of days, I guess.
Trains
Y’all know I’m a railfan. I wear the “foamer” label as a badge of honor. I don’t apologize for it. One of the reasons I like the PJ’s Coffee on Canal Boulevard is its proximity to the “Back Belt,” the train tracks that run across the northern part of Orleans Parish. Originally built by the New Orleans Terminal Company, the Back Belt connects Jefferson Parish with the “five mile bridge” over Lake Pontchartrain. Canal Blvd. uses an underpass, so there’s no grade crossing. In fact, there are no grade crossings on the Back Belt in the city. It’s a wonderful train-watching location, even on furnace-like days in the summer.
So, I take a lot of pictures for the history blog and insta. While I record the occasional freight train, I regularly record the Amtrak Crescent. This is the train that runs from New Orleans to Penn Station in Manhattan. Trains from NOLA to NYC started in the 1890s. Southern Railway branded the route, “The Crescent” in 1925. When Amtrak took over in 1971, the national passenger rail corporation kept the Crescent.
It takes the train less than a minute to pass over Canal Blvd. I get up, record that minute, and then go back to work. Most days, Amtrak runs the regular consist, coaches, sleepers, and a cafe’ car. Some days, however, an engine with a special paint job pulls the train. Others feature a private railcar or two bringing up the rear. It’s sort of like panning for gold. You have to look (and in this case, record), to catch the nugget.
Earlier this week, I saw the Crescent coming, pretty much on-time, around 0925. I got up and saw AMTK 164, a GE “Genesis” engine in the lead. This particular engine bears an older livery, the “Phase IV” scheme. Amtrak painted it that way to mark the 40th anniversary of the railroad, in 2011. So, there was an empty parking space on the side of the coffee shop. The train approached and I had a solid angle for that special engine. Then I hear a bunch of horn honking. There’s only about 20 seconds left before the train goes by, so I ignore it.
I hear the horn stop and a car door opens and closes. A woman comes up to me, demanding I get out of the parking space so she can pull in.
Ten seconds left in the train’s passing.
I turn to face her, still recording (not really thinking about that, but I did want to finish the train). I said, I’m just trying to record the train. She says she knew that and asked if she would have to go into the property management office where she said she works and get the manager.
Knock yourself out, I’m thinking, since by now, the train was gone. I returned to my outside table around the corner of the building and continued writing.
It’s the first time I’ve ever recorded a Karen. I shared the video to a couple of Amtrak groups on the Book of Zucker, since the lead engine is of note, without editing the woman out. She amused some of the viewers.
Is there a moral to the story? I dunno. Actions have consequences? Careful when you’re having a bad day? For me, show some empathy? The encounter is now in the writing, as y’all will see later today.
Weekend intentions – kick off the Patreon content! Tomorrow we’ll drop the Prologue and Chapter 1 of “Hidden Talents,” the first of my Urban Fantasy novels. I’ll drop two chapters a month for folks at the $1 level on this website. We’ll also feature new content, a short story, monthly. When it’s time for the new novel, that may go in at a higher subscription level.
Be safe this weekend!
