Just in time, I left the earthquake country of northern California for the snow and cold of central Ohio. It was an adventure getting here because the train got hung up by the weather. When the train was stopped in Denver, it was hard to believe that the clear skies presaged 17 foot snow drifts in Nebraska!! Amtrak put a trainload of us up in Denver for one night, and through a great deal of alternate planning, managed to deliver us to our destination in Chicago only 24 hours late! For the most part, everyone understood the problem, but there were a few who blamed the railroad exclusively for the weather problems. Even after we received word about the train which had been stranded in the Nebraska snow for 17 hours with no food, water, or facilities, people in Denver were still fussing about how the railroad had not pushed on with careless abandon to get them to point B at the appointed time.

I live my life by the Serenity Prayer. Over the years I have come to understand that I have very little control over most of what goes on around me. In fact, all I can really control is my attitude! I am naturally a pretty upbeat sort of person, but while we were sorting out the adventures of the train ride, I discovered that the negative persons around me began to eat into my spirit. I finally gave up and went outside the station, standing on the platform in the cold, but it was peaceful. The people who were out there with me were fellow spirits, spirits being consumed by the negativity and anger within the terminal. It was a relief to get back on the train and to be alone once again.

Why is it that humans are so self-centered? Why is it that we have become so driven that we throw caution to the winds in order to not be inconvenienced? Sure, I would have liked to have traveled straight through from Sacramento to Chicago, just like we always have done, but the extra night in Denver, the bus ride to a different train and the longer route into Chicago were a small price to pay for getting to Chicago safely. It would have been so nice if everyone would have realized just how well off they were!! It definitely would have been more peaceful!