Trackside America

 Riding the Metro North train yesterday from Grand Central to New Haven, Conn. to do a book event on Carry Me launch day. Soft warm soupy day, mostly raining, sometimes heavy. Warm for February. In that light, the trackside world looks kinda dismal, certainly, as the train streaks through the Bronx, then Westchester and into dolorous Connecticut. I do love trains, however, and it was hard not to keep staring out the window the whole trip. It often seems an ancient America--a 1920s America--strung along the railroad tracks. America's rusty, dusty, junk-strewn backyard. But so much more interesting and secretive than the facetious sprawl seen from the interstate.
And hey, the New York Times ran my essay, "The Last Train Before the War" today. I wrote this entire post before making that connection, train--train. Honest I did.