Listen Intently

I’m a train kinda guy. So what to do in New Orleans? Ride the historic street cars, of course. Bought a day-pass for the mass transit system, walked around town, and then boarded the street cars to see more of town. After walking much of the day, I started finding more excuses to hop on the street cars.

I got to see a lot of New Orleans (downtown, at least), and did it all on $5. Soon after breakfast, I walked the two blocks from my hotel to the famous Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. I walked down to the St. Louis Cathedral, passing Preservation Hall and then to the French Market. From there I walked back to Canal Street and rode the street car up to City Park and back. After lunch I rode the St. Charles line out past the Garden District and Tulane University. An evening ferry ride (free!) across the river and back allowed me to view the skyline and spend a few minutes on the water.

Back to Bourbon Street. Blocks and blocks of bars and cabarets. Very surreal in the morning hours, the shop owners slowly cleaning and re-opening, tending to their storefronts much as suburbanites tend to their front lawns on a quiet Saturday morning. As the required New Orleans experience, I went back down to Bourbon Street last night. At about 9:30 PM, it was still early, relatively, and the crowds were present but not overwhelming. What was overwhelming was the number of bar and cabaret staff, seemingly too many of them, standing throughout the street trying to draw customers into their establishments. The music is overwhelming, with every bar having a different band–everything from country to classic hard rock could be heard, so choose your poison, I guess. There were several families still out and walking up and down the street, perhaps it’s a way to impress upon youngsters just how stupidly adults can behave when mass quantities of alcohol are involved. Before heading back, I enjoyed an adult beverage at an outdoor patio listening to some jazz. It was pleasant. Very pleasant.

I was on the return trip into downtown on the St. Charles street car when a group of 25 got on. They crammed in the back, where I was already sitting, some standing, some finding seats. It was mostly what appeared to be younger high school aged young men and women, and I learned that were a mission group from a Methodist Church in Kansas City. They had finished up their week of volunteer work and were heading into town for some fun and relaxation after the many days of work. One of them asked me something along the lines of whether I was annoyed to all of a sudden be surrounded by a large group of unexperienced mass transit riders. To which, I said, “nah, not at all. In fact, I’m more often in one of those groups!” They spoke about their work experience during the week, quickly forgetting that I wasn’t “in” on the inside jokes. Their excitement over getting to spend the evening downtown and have some fun was contagious. They had toured the Lower Ninth Ward sometime during the week, and although they had certainly done a tremendous amount to help this week, you could see the despair in their eyes as they related what they saw still today in that devastated area. As we all got off at Canal Street and said our respective “safe travels,” I was simply reminded of how much I enjoy working with adolescents. Though most wear a hard shell, they, most often, are some of the most caring, wondering, and eager to explore people on the planet. I am reminded of the words of a Dan Fogelberg song we used to sing at Storer Camps:

There’s a light in the depths of your darkness
Let it shine…oh, let it shine

What a great reminder of the trips that I used to lead from our Ferndale UMYF group. Hope that all of ya’ll are doing fine. And it’s about time for me to get back involved in such a group around my town.

It’s back to the train station now, for the ride on the Sunset Limited to Los Angeles. Two nights in a row on the same train — this is the longest stretch on the same train for me this trip. Should be fun. All aboard!

Credits: “There’s a Place in the World for a Gambler,” Dan Fogelberg, from the album Souvenirs.

Apparently, they are called Kudzu vines. They were brought in from Japan to “control erosion.” But what happens when you bring in a non-native species into an ecosystem? Hmm, let’s see, in this case, it has taken over. Seemingly from dawn near Atlanta all the way through Mississippi, the Kudzu vines were everywhere. Yes, it seems that they are doing a pretty good job with erosion control. Too hell with every other living plant.

I had an memorable time in Washington. Walked and walked and walked some more. Google Pedometer says I walked 4.77 miles or so. Saw some sights that I felt I had so see, perceived a few more in the distance that I just couldn’t quite make it to. You see, Amtrak travel is finicky–no, it’s just plain luck. My train was on-time, giving me a full 4 hours in Washington. The train the day before and the day after were about 2 hours late. I guess luck was on my side Tuesday.

Knock on wood for me please…my Amtrak luck continued during the ride on The Crescent. I managed to get photos uploaded using the free WiFi in the Acela Lounge, then threw the laptop into the bag to catch my early boarding opportunity. This is an all-single level train, so there is not a Sightseer Lounge car. One thing that I’ve noticed, so far, is that many of the sleeping car passengers lock themselves in their compartments and come out only for meals. Hermits, if you will.

Meals are interesting, as they fill up the tables with strangers and you get to strike up some interesting conversations. Over lunch, I sat with a media-career-hopeful student returning from a CNN internship (he had a very nice personality; he could actually make it in TV news if he catches the right break), a retired 1st Grade teacher, and a 19-year-old women on her way to meet up with her finance in Baton Rouge. But that’s only the beginning–she didn’t know what he does for a living, she recently drove her car into the ditch, got arrested for DUI, and, there’s more, but you don’t really want to hear it. Ironically, both the young lady and gentlemen got sent to the train in Atlanta by Delta Airlines, because they both seemed (twice, each) to have trouble getting to the airport in time for their plane. So, rather than put them on the Clue Bus, Delta handed them off to Amtrak and said, “here, you deal with them.”

I got a lot more sleep on this train. Simply, I was tired. I slept through much of the night, only waking up a few times during various stops. We stopped at some unknown station in some unknown town at some unknown (but very early) time for a long period of time (we were EARLY! I’ve never had that happen on an Amtrak train before!). Unfortunately, we stopped right next to this really, REALLY, bright light. Right outside my window. Thank you very much.

We passed through some very nice countryside, and entered “new” territory for me…traveling through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. I’m used to the train following rivers (like we did in Pennsylvania), but not this time. Just a long winding path through countryside, hills, trees, pastures, and kudzu vines. At times, things were very swampy & wet, especially as we got closer to New Orleans (wow, what a surprise). We crossed Lake Pontchartrain, passed City Park (with the Museum of Art) and pulled into the station right next to the (in)famous Superdome. I posted some photos of the lake crossing and a shot overlooking a New Orleans cemetary with downtown in the background. Saw some signs of Katrina damage, still, but in the areas we went by, not too bad. I’m told that parts of town still are a long way from being anything to speak of, though.

So, now, I’m back off to the French Quarter, going to find some frozen beverages and party hardy…well, not really. But I am going to go find some nice Jazz to listen to for a while before crashing back at the hotel. Join me…throw some Thelonious Monk on your iPod, or perhaps a Stanley Turrentine CD…

I took many of the “required tourist” shots in D.C. today.  Click on the photo on the right to see multiple photos.  Lot’s of walking — in three hours I walked from Union Station to the WWII memorial (past the Washington Monument) and back.  Probably about 2+ miles or so.  Uploading the photos now…

About to get on #19 The Crescent to go to the Big Easy.  All Aboard!

This is the way to start the day.  Way back when I was training to be a cabin counselor, our training director got us up at dawn one morning, and read us a story about how to start the day.  No, being on a train isn’t anything like being on a canoe on the middle of the lake at dawn, but…let me back up a bit…

I hopped on board Amtrak’s Capitol Limited in Toledo at about 12:20 AM for my first adventure in an Amtrak sleeping car.  I have to admit that I didn’t get much sleep.  Just a bit too excited about starting off my vacation.  I stayed awake as the train progressed east over Sandusky Bay, finally got a bit of sleep before Cleveland, but woke up to the bright lights of the station, parked right next to Brown’s Stadium.

Dawn woke me up around 5 AM as we approached Pittsburgh.  Jaded as I am by my previous Amtrak experience, I was quite surprised to be arriving fifteen minutes early.  Alas, our earliness was a good thing, as a medical emergency on board used up all of our layover time and then some.  The ride aboard the Capitol has been very pleasant, since losing time in Pittsburgh, we’ve been fifteen to fifty minutes behind schedule, but the padding will, as of now, allow us to arrive into Washington, DC, on time.

Since Pittsburgh, we’ve followed the Youghiogheny River all the way up the mountains, a winding railroad journey through quiet, green and beautiful countryside.  On the way down the other side, we picked up the Potomac River and, basically, are following it all the way into DC.

My first sleeper experience has been aboard Superliner #32109, the “South Dakota.”  Special thanks to Nathan, our car attendant, who’s helped to make this a comfortable ride.  It’s now time to explore DC for a few hours, then hop on the Crescent for the overnight journey into New Orleans.

All Aboard!

From the June 2008 issue of T.H.E. Journal:

A RECENT REPORT by Irvine, CA-based nonprofit Project Tomorrow indicates a stark discord between schools’ perception of the value of the education they’re providing and what students think about it. Released this spring, the fifth annual Speak Up survey assesses how well schools are doing to prepare students for the jobs of the future.

The answer appears to be: Depends on whom you ask. While 66 percent of school administrators, 47 percent of teachers, and 43 percent of parents say “local schools are doing a good job preparing students for the jobs and careers of the future,” only 23 percent of middle and high school students agreed with that assessment.

What’s interesting is the survey suggests that students seem to be more in tune with 21st-century skills than the adults who hold sway over their education. They rate the importance of developing creativity and teamwork skills higher than do their parents and teachers. On top of that, 74 percent of high school students identify good technology skills as the top priority for success in the 21st-century job market. (full text)

Pause for thought. While generation gaps have always occurred, the rate of change in today’s society and culture has increased dramatically and exponentially. This has helped created a huge generation gap today.  Some might note that perhaps students don’t know what skills they will need, but at the very least, these numbers show that students don’t feel school is necessarily relevant.

I’d like to go on, but time is short and I’ll need to continue this later.  Tonight I am hopping on board Amtrak for an around the country adventure.  Pictures and stories will be posted as I travel.