I discovered an interesting thing on my latest trip to Chicago.
I kind of miss living near trains. See I grew up a half block from the tracks that go through Burbank. I spent my whole childhood hearing the freight trains pass. So when I woke in the middle of the night to a slight tremor of my bed I’d listen for the train. Well, to reassure myself it wasn’t an earthquake and I didn’t need to rush for the doorway!
This last trip I rode the train from Medway Airport to my hotel in downtown Chicago. The Loop, its called. I mistakenly got off the wrong exit and since I didn’t want to deal with all the luggage on the train again, Joan and I shared a taxi. But the first ride was actually pretty pleasant. I had my music in my ears with my iPhone and a good grip on my giant suitcases! Everyone else was a commuter of some sort and it was the same type of mix as I’d see on the Metro in Los Angeles for the most part. But this train traveled through downtown on elevated tracks. It gave it a certain “Disney” effect.
At the time it was fun and I watched the mostly brick buildings with their different types of balcony’s pass by at a slow pace. And I thought back to so many t.v. shows I’d seen of people complaining of the constant train noise outside of their apartment. Once home I was watching a DVR recording of the new show Chicago Fire (while working cuz I cannot seem to watch television without doing something whilst doing it!!) and I saw a train pass in the background of the show on elevated tracks.
And the strangest feeling of nostalgia swept through me. Truly strange… and I can only blame the wonderful time I had there for any attachment to the city. Yes, my father was from Chicago originally but he’s been in the So Cal now for 50 years & we have no family still there. (Well, actually I have a crazy Aunt in a home and a young married cousin somewhere out there… lol… but one I barely know and the other is a good Christian woman and doesn’t need eccentric Heather on her doorstep! Even if she IS my favorite… and that was before I broke her leg when she was a 6 month old baby…but that’s a whole other blog!) And yes, my father speaks with a slight accent which I inherited from him but it’s always mistaken me as originating in New York not Chicago.
Seconds ago (and what prompted this blog) I saw another television show and in the background was the sound of the train with a train whistle. And I realized that I LIKE trains and wouldn’t be unhappy living next to tracks again. Or even better, living in a city where commuting by train was more normal than inconvenient. I suddenly understand how one of my lovers is so happy about his recent move to New York. As addicted to cars as we are in Los Angeles (and I know my driving would make any Chicago man or New Yorker crazy) I like the slow, enjoy the scenery aspect of commuting by train.
I’ve done the tourist thing before, but I think I’m looking forward to San Francisco in a few weeks. Perhaps we’ll take the BART to the convention center and a trolley here or there.
Oh and my fondness for trains… couldn’t possibly be related to trains being the hobby of my father! Nah….