| Train roll on. |
[02 Jun 2007|08:02am] |
Braden had decided instantly upon the train as his preferred mode of transport from New York City to Las Vegas. There was no sense of urgency, as he knew that as soon as he arrived at his destination he would be staying for a while. Why not enjoy the trip?
It was four days in total. Braden had secured himself a small room, complete with a bed that folded out from the side of the wall. He spent relatively little time there, for there existed a few cars down a wonderful viewing area, with the walls made almost entirely of glass. Below, there was a small bar that served the more common forms of beer and liquor. Within two hours, they knew that Braden was going to be their best customer.
He spent much of his time with a drink in his hand, staring off into the distance from his perch in the viewing car. At night, they played older movies like “Captain Ron” or “Goldfinger”, but during the day it was simply the shuffling of the scenery outside and of people inside.
Once in a while, someone would sit down beside him, and the two of them would share several moments of silent proximity as plains, forests, rivers, cities, and all the wildlife that these places could entail flew by. A few times someone might strike up a brief conversation, but it almost always centered around the view.
Braden had to make more connections with the train than would have been necessary with a flight, but he didn’t care. His first run took him from New York to Chicago. Having only ten minutes, he raced from one platform to the next, catching the train that rain from Chicago to Albuquerque. His layover there was three hours, so he took a stroll in the hot desert sun, stopping and admiring the little tables that were set up as make-shift shops. He happened upon a gold medallion of St. Patrick, with a shamrock on the far side. He laughed out loud when he found this, and paid the little dark-haired girl sitting at the table twice what they were asking for it; an amount which came to the grand total of five dollars.
His good luck charm hung around his neck and under his shirt, with a bit of the chain peeking out from the top of his t-shirt. He got back to the station and boarded his train once more, and settled in for the short trip with his favorite traveling partner, Jack Daniels.
Vegas was only a few hours away.
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