Train-Tripping and Goodbye, Maria

Slow down, 2024! What's the hurry?

I've likely wrapped up work in my glass studio until next winter. I was pleased with how many pieces I was able to create in the few months where I regularly worked on stained glass projects. Now that I've got a decent inventory in my Etsy shop, I hope to be able to focus on the panels above our kitchen cabinets and on the windows in our master bathroom when I begin work again next winter. 

The final piece I did was of a mountain biker riding through a forest. Tammy bought me this wood art as a gift and I used it as inspiration for the design. I figured it was past time that I finally merged my two passions (stained glass and cycling) into a sun-catcher. 

For comparison, like most of my pieces of late, it's a smallish panel.

This piece of art glass won't make it into my Etsy store. I would much rather gift it to Cliff (our grandson) at some point. 

Tammy has taken time lately to work on some watercolor paintings for Clifford's room. Here's her first one. She has two others in the works. 

The solar eclipse from 10 days ago wasn't much to look at here in Minnesota where the sun was only 75% obscured. We had overcast skies during the event but I did manage to capture this photo when the clouds momentarily parted while I was out walking.

One of our mildest winters ever is behind us and now I'm patiently waiting for warmer daytime temps to take hold. Spring, my favorite time of year, is upon us! I need to get our hummingbird feeders out in the next week or so in case our mild weather has them heading our way sooner than usual. 

Tammy and I took a trip to Chicago last week, returning home Sunday night. What a blast! She got us tickets to see Marc Cohn in concert at City Winery/Chicago last Friday night. That was all the excuse we needed to take a few days out of our normal routine. Since we're both retired and in no hurry, we decided to take Amtrak as Tammy had never ridden on a train before. She had a book to occupy her time and I had the Masters golf tournament to watch while the world passed by at about 80 mph (130 kph) outside my window. I spent most of my time in the observation car with its full complement of windows.

I don't mind at all leaving our travel plans to Tammy. She's always sure to include some shows or tours during our time away. On Saturday we took the 90-minute Chicago River Architecture Tour by Wendella Boat Tours through the heart of the city with our guide pointing out the various styles of architecture that make up the skyline. It was time and money well spent. 

On Saturday night we did the Chicago Crime Bus Tour where our guide led us around the city and gave us the history of the mobsters that made the city their home as well as pointing out and stopping at some of their hangouts. We both found it an entertaining and informative 2-hour tour.

One of my favorite things to do while we were in Chicago was to get up each morning and walk to Lakefront Trail—about one mile from our hotel. I would walk up the coast a few miles then head back to our room on the 12th floor. The trails were always busy with a mix of runners and walkers on one paved surface with cyclists on another paved surface adjacent to the walking/running path. I imagined myself being 35 years younger and running with them. I loved my time spent walking there and looked forward to it each morning. 

After a full weekend, we waited until the last minute to check out of our hotel (the Courtyard Marriot) and caught an Uber to the train depot where we had a few hours to kill before we could board our train. I struck up a conversation with an older man who took a seat beside me in the massive depot. Jim is retired and widowed and enjoys traveling the country by train, preferring to bring his own food in a small blue cooler because he's trying to eat more healthfully. He usually travels coach as he's able to fall asleep upright in his seat and I imagine it saves him some cash as well. We had a nice conversation before I had to say goodbye and leave to grab a bite to eat before we boarded train #27, The Empire Builder, for St Paul.  

I took a seat in the observation car again and fired up my iPad to watch the final round of the Masters, but I didn't get too far into it before I had 3 other guys at my table, conversing the rest of the ride together. First came William, a proud Mexican and an Afghanistan war vet who earned both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Medal for his service. A scar on his chin and a mouthful of metal under his bottom row of teeth tell the story of an IED that hit the vehicle he was a passenger in. Darnelle was the next to join our group—a 33-year-old 6' 7" sharp-as-a-whip African American guy working his way up Target's corporate ladder. He was so well-versed on any topic that came up: golf; green energy; electric vehicles; anything electronics-related; refurbishing homes; landscaping. Impressive, I thought. Connor was the last to take a seat at our table. He and William were both traveling all the way to the end of the train's line in Seattle, WA; a 46 1/2-hour trip from Chicago. After some time, William commented to Connor that he has the same mannerisms as Elon Musk. I spent the next few minutes observing Connor more closely and came to find myself agreeing with William. We all laughed. He sorta looked like him too. 

Connor was an interesting 27-year-old White guy. He carried both a small and a large spiral notebook and a pen with him that he'd use to jot down random comments from our conversation. I was talking about the use of psilocybin for halting cluster headache attacks like the kind I get and the dosage I use. I took a quick glance at his notebook a little later and there it was " magic mushrooms 3 doses of 2.5 mg 5 days apart". I was super curious why he was making such notes but I figured it was his business and perhaps it was one of the ways he coped with life. They were all such friendly guys. 

Toward the end of our time together William commented that we should have made our conversation into a podcast. We all laughed—but it wasn't a bad idea! 

We had several Amish riders on the train, as well as some Old German Baptist Brethren who live a lifestyle similar to that of the Amish. I was hoping to chat with someone from either group so when a couple of men and a woman from the Old German Baptist Brethren sat behind me I took the opportunity to introduce myself. We had an interesting discussion and they were happy to tell me about their lives. Clayton and Kermit both looked to be about my age (mid-60s). Clayton is a cabinet maker and Kermit is a dairy farmer with about 150 head of cattle. I was curious about what percentage of their youth remain in the group when they become adults. They said it's about 50%. They're allowed to use power tools and flip phones but not smartphones. They can own a home computer but they're not allowed to access the internet. 

I asked how accepting they are of people in same-sex relationships. Kermit replied, "We don't have any." I pushed back a little and said that surely they must but that perhaps they're uncomfortable being honest about their sexuality. He said if they did come forward, they would be disfellowshipped from the group. I didn't challenge them any further. I asked about healthcare and whether they have health insurance. They said they do and that they have access to healthcare the way most people do. Kermit boasted of a knee replacement and a kidney transplant. I asked if I would be welcomed in their church dressed as I am if I were to show up for a service some Sunday morning. They assured me I would be but that I wouldn't be able to be a member unless I adhered to their lifestyle. Neither man had any retirement plans. We spoke for about 20 minutes. They were exceedingly friendly and I was thankful for the chat with them. 

It was a long ride home but I thoroughly enjoyed it all. 

Here's an album I put together of our trip. 

On a sad note, I got a call from my brother Bryan this morning to tell me that our aunt Maria had passed away the night before. Maria was 83 and had a zest for life that is matched by few. She was also someone who lit up a room or any gathering of people. Our family get-togethers won't be the same without her.

That's all I've got.