You ever notice how riding a train still feels… human?
No security lines. No uncomfortable searches. You don’t need an app or a chip or a passport. You just need a ticket. And time. No stripping away your dignity—or your shoes—or having your crotch scanned or grabbed for the right to eat stale plane food at thirty thousand feet.
You just need some patience and a sense of adventure.
That’s rare in a world where everything is tracked, pinged, scanned, and sold.
On a train, you can bring your own sandwich. Sip your own drink. Watch small towns blur into farmland, and farmland give way to skyline. It’s one of the last places where motion feels like meditation.
But don’t get me wrong—trains aren’t perfect. I just took a ride from Rochester to New York City and back again. And the downsides of Amtrak remain abundant. Slower, older, tighter than it needs to be. Delays without explanations. Stations without announcements. It’s like stepping into a time capsule—and not always in a good way.
Trains are like a banana. When they hit that sweet spot, they’re just right—peaceful, thoughtful, even joyful. But too early or too late and it’s maddening. Underripe, and it’s stiff and cold. Overripe, and it’s mush.
Yes. A train ride is a chance.
A chance to drift.
What do you think? When was the last time you took a train, and where did it take you—literally or otherwise?
Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesbrowntv.substack.com.
On that note, I’m James Brown, and as always, be well.
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