I can hear the sound of the whistle. The train is nearby. The ground shakes as the freight moves closer. Flashing lights.
I got stopped yesterday at the RR crossing in town. The train was long…and it was in no hurry. I sat for 12 minutes, parked, as the cars rolled by. There is something about a train. I’m not sure what it is…almost mesmerizing…the clack, clack, clack as the cars pass over the rails. Trains slow us down. Whether we like it or not. Yesterday, I chose to like it.
Since I was the first car at the guard, I had a great view of the train car graffiti. Have you ever had opportunity to really look at the graffiti that is sprayed all over the train? Honestly, a lot of it was really good stuff. I know people should not spray paint on other people’s property. It is vandalism. That is just the truth. But, if I owned a train I think I’d hire some kids to “paint” it. Um….I’d call it something like “Art On The Rails”.
One graffiti artist had painted an entire person on the car. I was thoroughly impressed with the detail.
As it turns out, the brief intermission of rail road art was just what I needed.
Living in the moment.
Enjoying something as simple as graffiti.
And I drove away, smiling.
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It Just Dawned On Me 
Dawn, thanks for your observations on train art. On my way to and from church a long freight train often stops traffic. I am the first car at the barricade often. You’re right. There’s something about a train that mesmerizes me. In fact, I told my wife that riding a freight train cross country is on my bucket list. The bubble art is something I anticipate when I’m stopped. Now if the railroads were market savvy, they’d sell space on train cars for advertising. Quick bursts, like “Got Milk” and “Be All You Can Be.” Then, if they were really smart, they’d hire the graffiti artists to paint the cars. That would do two things: 1) generate ad revenue for the railroad; and 2) convert vandals to legitimate business men.
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