Archive for category Travel
The Train
Posted by Andy Affleck in Deep Thoughts, Travel on May 7, 2009
I started a new job a few weeks ago up in Boston. The commute, by train and bus, is on the long side but about the same length of time it once took me to get to work when I lived in Northern Virginia. And, like that earlier commute, I'm spending a lot of my time reading, listening to music and podcasts, and doing crossword puzzles. It's quality "me" time, something I haven't had as much of in recent years working out of home most of the time. There I'm either at work or I'm "Dad" and, either way, I didn't have much time for the simple, self-indulgent things like books and puzzles.
One thing I like about taking the train is the joy of people watching. I sit in the same seat every morning (boarding in Providence, the start of the line, means I have an empty train every morning) and I've started getting to know all of the people I see day after day. There's the couple who always sits across from me with matching iPods who rarely speak to each other but kiss when one gets off a stop before the other. There's the older woman who's friendly with everyone and chats with me about my puzzles. There's the young woman with the MacBook who plays with iTunes and then writes. And there's the pretty woman a bit younger than I am who I am convinced I somehow know or have met but cannot place her. Her lack of any expression the rare moments our eyes meet tell me she does not recognize me in any way so I suspect she just looks like someone I once knew.
And taking the train reminds me of another time in my life where I was a commuter on a commuter rail: high school. I lived in Bronxville, NY and took the Metro North Commuter Rail from the Fleetwood station (walking distance from the apartment I lived in with my Mother) to Fordham where I attended Fordham Preperatory High School. I remember very little about the commute as it was largely dull and I didn't really know anyone on the train. (When I was in 11th grade we moved to Manhattan and, in 12th, Brooklyn and taking the D train up to the Bronx was far more interesting but a story for another time).
One memory stands out loud and clear for me: The Red Haired Girl. She was there every afternoon on the Fordham platform waiting for the train. I think she may even have gotten off at my stop though I do not clearly remember that detail. All I know was that over the course of 10th grade, I became fascinated with her. She was very pretty and her eyes were especially striking, contrasting with her bright red hair. I was always looking at her and then looking away when she caught me, wondering if she was the least bit interested in me as well. She seemed to look at me too but that could just be because I was staring at her so much. At that age, everything seems so overblown and important.
In English class we had to write a short (very short) story and I used her as the plot of the story. It was about a man who lacked the courage to speak to someone with whom he obviously connected. It was a melodramatic piece and if there's any justice in the world, no copy survives today in any boxes of stuff I have. But it speaks to how much I thought about her.
I was a drama club geek in High School and was in every musical they put on. When I went home after school when we had a rehearsal she was sometimes there taking the later train as well. If I was with any of my friends from the show, I would ham it up with them, all to get her attention.
One day, I got the nerve to speak to her. It remains to this day the most anti-climactic event of my life. I had built up for months this fantasy of finally talking to her and making this connection and we'd fall in love and clouds would part and doves would drop olive branches on us or something insipid like that. But it wasn't to be. No, instead I got up from my seat and moved over and sat next to her and told her that I'd been looking at her for some time and wanted to say hello and something mumble mumble. She just sat there and said nothing. She said nothing at all. So, I got up and moved away, maybe even to another car. I avoided her after that, mortified as I was.
Soon after we moved and my commute went from Manhattan north into the Bronx rather than south and I never took the train again nor did I ever see her again. I never did learn her name (or I forgot it if I did). For quite some time I avoided thinking about her or the situation as it was too cringeworthy. But now I look back with some fondness on my awkward, shy, teenaged self and actually feel a bit of pride that, after everything, I at least had the guts to go and talk to the girl.
And, here I am, 25 years later still thinking about that girl, about that commute, and about trains. Some mornings I just want to tune everything out and stare out the window while I listen to something on my iPhone. But some days I'll sit and chat with whoever is nearby and in a chatty mood and get to know some new and interesting people. Either way, I love riding the train.
Waterfall in Woodstock, NY
Posted by Andy Affleck in Home & Family, Photography, Travel on December 28, 2008
While it’s a gray day, it’s still beautiful this time of year. I love visiting my family here at the Holidays. We had a wonderful party at my sister’s last night and today we’re being tourists in Woodstock.
Stirring up Memories
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on December 7, 2005
I just spent the last two days up at Dartmouth College. When I was last in Hanover, it was the summer of 2001 and I was there as a master teacher for the Summer Enrichment At Dartmouth program. What struck me was how much development had happened. I felt that the cute small town I lived in and around for ten years had changed for the worse and I was sad at what had been lost.
Strangely enough, on this trip I felt the exact opposite. Maybe the four years I lived in the Washington, DC area have changed my perceptions. Maybe I’ve finally been away from Dartmouth long enough for the nostalgia to take root. On this trip, it was once again the cute small town I remembered. Ok, it was somewhat more built up than before, but on the whole, it felt familiar and a part of me felt like I was coming home.
Unfortunately, I did not make it into Phi Tau, my coed fraternity. The house I lived in was torn down a few years back, since I last visited, and I hoped to visit the new house and check it out. But I was too busy with the consulting work I was up there doing and I only had time to quickly drive by it. I’ll make it there on my next trip.
Being up there again brought up a lot of old memories, many of which were long forgotten. It was nice to revisit my past but I have to admit that my reaction to many of those memories were one of relief that they were memories and not current reality.
No, you can’t go home again, but if you stay away long enough, you can visit without the baggage. And that’s even better.
Technorati Tags: Dartmouth
Gettysburg, PA
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on December 2, 2004
I’m up in Gettysburg, PA today attending a General Services Administration (GSA) sponsored Section 508 meeting for 508 coordinators in the federal government. The vendor portion of the day is over and I have another hour to kill before dinner tonight at which I am the keynote speaker.
This is a very cute town. Of course, the late afternoon light which is so beautiful in the early winter/late fall helps. We drove up to the visitor center and checked out part of the battlefield. I’m pretty sure my Great Great Grandfather, Andrew Jackson Williams, fought here. He was in the 71st PA Infantry, company C under Captain John Markoe (after whom he named his son. My father, in turn, was John Markoe Williams III).
I took some pictures which I’ll post when I get home. I forgot the card to get the pictures from my camera into my laptop. Oops.
Heaven
Posted by Andy Affleck in Grab Bag, Home & Family, Red Sox and Baseball, Travel on October 30, 2004
There’s been a steady mist since we left Virginia. Wet weather in autumn does wonderful things to the already-gorgeous foliage: the tree trunks turn a dark color and the striking colors of the changing leaves are that much more vibrant and breath-taking. The further north we drove, the better it got. Route 15 up through Gettysburg, PA, I-78 across to NJ, I-287 up into New York, the Sall Mill Parkway in Westchester, the Merritt Parkway through CT and finally, I-95 into RI. The colors have been amazing. The cloudy skies, gentle rain, and faint fog have all amplified the effect.
Combine that with this regional elation. I had a Red Sox moment the day after the Sox won the World Series on the Metro in Washington where me in my Sox cap caught the eye of another guy in his Sox cap. We shared a smile and a nod. Multiply that by a billion and you don’t even scratch what it is like up here. Everyone has their Red Sox gear on and everyone is congratulating everyone else. People are practically beaming here. We’ve all died and gone to Red-Sox-Won-The-World-Series-Look-At-The-Foliage-Did-You-See-The-Parade-Have-Some-Pumpkin-Pie heaven.
Though, my favorite moment was the dirty looks I got wearing my Red Sox cap in the Starbucks in Ardsley, NY this morning. Now they know what it feels like to be a Red Sox fan. Rather, they know what it used to feel like to be a Red Sox fan. I’m going to ride this high for awhile and it feels great. My father-in-law is still walking around in a daze. I’ve never seen him so happy. We bought him a Red Sox World Champions hat today and I don’t think he’s taken if off yet.
Yes, right now, this place and time, this is heaven.
States I’ve Visited
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on February 5, 2004
Vacation Pix
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on July 3, 2003
We just got back from a mini-vacation to Rhode Island. Here are some of the pictures.
Home Sweet Home
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on May 18, 2003
There’s nothing more wonderful than returning home to find that the plants have been watered, the mail gathered and in neat piles, no ants, and everything in ship shape. I feel like I can relax for the first time in ages. Ahhhh…
We’re back!
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on May 16, 2003
As you can no doubt tell from the resumption of random blogging, we’re back. Here are the final pictures from the last morning.
We took about 300 pictures total and there are many great ones I didn’t feel like uploading (disk space, bandwidth, laziness, etc.) I may or may not get some of the better ones up down the road. Then again, I’ve been promising to get the best pictures from our 1996 trip to Italy up too. So, you should not hold your breath.
Aside from being pulled from baggage check-in to be interrogated (no idea why, we must have looked shifty) the trip back was uneventful. So, for once, we went there and back without major drama (the Venice airport incident or the missing camera/lost-luggage incident from our two prior trips to Italy). Maybe it’s an Italian thing. Who knows?
Anyway, the trip was a lot of fun and very productive work-wise for me. I made the contacts I wanted to make and am going to get involved with some very exciting things, provided we can get the funding we want to continue the development we want to do. And it was wonderful reconnecting with family I really haven’t seen in almost 20 years.
Now we’re in New York at my sister Ann’s and will be heading back home over the weekend. I forced myself to stay up until 11PM last night and yet I still woke up at 4AM and couldn’t get back to sleep. Ugh. Now Jack is just waking up so the day has to start now. Off to the races!
We’re back!
Posted by Andy Affleck in Travel on May 16, 2003
As you can no doubt tell from the resumption of random blogging, we’re back. Here are the final pictures from the last morning.
We took about 300 pictures total and there are many great ones I didn’t feel like uploading (disk space, bandwidth, laziness, etc.) I may or may not get some of the better ones up down the road. Then again, I’ve been promising to get the best pictures from our 1996 trip to Italy up too. So, you should not hold your breath.
Aside from being pulled from baggage check-in to be interrogated (no idea why, we must have looked shifty) the trip back was uneventful. So, for once, we went there and back without major drama (the Venice airport incident or the missing camera/lost-luggage incident from our two prior trips to Italy). Maybe it’s an Italian thing. Who knows?
Anyway, the trip was a lot of fun and very productive work-wise for me. I made the contacts I wanted to make and am going to get involved with some very exciting things, provided we can get the funding we want to continue the development we want to do. And it was wonderful reconnecting with family I really haven’t seen in almost 20 years.
Now we’re in New York at my sister Ann’s and will be heading back home over the weekend. I forced myself to stay up until 11PM last night and yet I still woke up at 4AM and couldn’t get back to sleep. Ugh. Now Jack is just waking up so the day has to start now. Off to the races!
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