LISTEN TO THE TRAIN

I live 5.2 miles or so from the nearest railroad train tracks. There are tracks close to the church, but from my home they are just over 5 miles or maybe a little closer as the crow flies.

Why does that matter?

Glad you asked.

Often in the middle of the night I hear train horns blowing. When I first heard them at home, I thought I was dreaming. There were no trains close to my house, but then I realized I was really hearing train horns. It didn't seem possible, but true.

I don't know if they skip over the terrain between my home and the tracks or down the river and creek to my house, but the sounds definitely come from those tracks miles away which are blocked by all kinds of housing and buildings.

When I was a boy, we lived out in the country close to Montgomery, Alabama. There were train tracks that ran close by our house which we would play on and watch the trains goes by. Also, in Anniston, Al, where I grew up as a teenager, there were train tracks there. They have always caught my attention.

Don't know why that train tracks caught my attention this morning, but I guess I heard the train as I began to write. Funny how things grab your mind.

I try not to listen to the train whistle in the night, but sometimes I hear it and then pray and head back to sleep. Glad I don't live any closer to the tracks.