RICK'S TRAIN TRIP BACK TO LA....2013

jan 13th~ 2013~ 4pm

deja vu! i am back at the Albuquerque train station... just like it all never happened. 

paul was nice enough to give me a ride into town and take me to the local sports bar. 
definitely  not my thing, but it was fun with paul. he is a character with a capital ~C and a true sweetheart~ as in a kind man.

as i mentioned before my taos artist~ ray wiger~ told me to always dress up when you travel because you get treated better. well his advice is working like a charm. the ticket counter person~ hazel~ is sweet as pie, and the waiters & waitresses  at the little cafe where i get my tea & pumpkin cake treat me like royalty.. 
let's hope this trend continues throughout my train ride home.. and here she comes!

4:10pm

ok, i'm on the train.. i'm gonna try to "size" up who my travel companions will be.. right away the black~lesbianish conductor seems in a bad mood. she is not telling anyone where to go and everyone is confused. i politely wait in line and even let this cute latino boy with headphones go ahead of me.. he is very shy...  he has potential!

i ask the black~lesbianish conductor if she has room could she give me a seat on my own... "i'll see what i can do. seat 26" she replies. i get on board and there are already belongings there with a tag stating~ LAX. which means i have to share this seat with someone else the entire way home.. we're not off to a good start.

4:52pm

ok we're off.. .my neighbor is a very large, (i use this term as politely as possible) man or woman.. i cannot tell what gender they are. they are very "pat-like" from SNL. they decide to go to the observation car.

 i think this is very noble of them because i can guarantee we will both not fit in the spaces we are assigned.

i think i'll wait till happy hour before i go to the observation car.

5:15pm

the sun is setting on new mexico. i cannot even begin to describe how beautiful it is...
 i will just show you~

5:18pm

there are a couple amish people on board. a man, wife and his son.. their outfits & haircuts are so severe they almost look like fashion mavens. kinda like rick owens..

 the son is soooo skinny, and has this wedge haircut and an all denim outfit.. it's actually very cool. the dad is wearing a poloish shirt, highwaisted pants with suspenders and glasses. he looks like an aged emo. the wifey looks like a white~ muslim with her head covering. very severe.

5:31pm

ok i'm now in the observation car. the sun is setting  and here's what the scene is like....

there is a young mid-western family waiting for their dinner reservations. hubby~wifey and three kids. they are all very eager. they are chatting with a trendyish boy who seems like he may be gay. he is happy to give them as much info about train travel as possible. he seems to be a seasoned  train traveler. 

next to me is an old lady on her cell phone.. she is trying to text.. i find it interesting when old people know how to do cyber stuff.. i'm proud of them... 

i saw the person who was sitting next to me.. i recognized him by his blanket. yes he is a male. he seem content bulging out of the seat in the observation car.. i am not kidding, he is really big.

another trendy boy just came out of the dinner car and said hi to the other trendy guy. they make small talk. who knows.... maybe a relationship will blossom.. i mean we have a whole 18 hours together.

5:40pm

and there goes the sun. the very last sliver is disappearing behind the horizon. 

it's all so grand. did i tell you about the sunrises in jemez? they are so beautiful.. the valley is very cold and dark. it gets light around 6amish..then around 7amish the sun piers itself above the mountain tops very quickly  it gets warm and the temperature changes to approx. 10 degrees warmer.. well maybe less, but it's a dramatic change. 
around this time i go into raymond's studio and read. 

kai- raymond's male husky is always there. he loves it when i come in and lay with him.
 i then read to him.. on this trip~ oscar wilde.. kai is a real queen so he loves it 

5:46pm

there is a young asian boy sitting in front of me. he has a blanket wrapped around his shoulders which i think is an overly dramatic statement to be making.. it simply isn't that cold.

5:50pm

i start my "happy hour" early and crack open my bottle of cardinal zin~ i got it at saints & sinners bar/liquor store in espanol, NM.  i've been there a few times with raymond. we even sat in the shop and had a drink, which they allow and encourage.  paul had never been there are was very impressed with the selection. i mean seriously this bar/liquor shop is in the middle of this bum-fuck town~ espanola. (famous for inventing the low-rider) it is so unexpected.

5:55pm~ the trendyish boy is very jealous of my wine and i can see he would like to make small talk with me. he is a chat-whore. i purposely don't chat with him because i don't want to share my wine.. i only have a half- bottle left. just enough for my own private happy hour.

6:47pm

BTW~ this bottle of zinfandel i got at saints & sinners in espanola, NM is just ok... i doesn't even begin to hold a candle to my les duex margot my nephew brought me from Bordeaux.. oh those were the days,

7:-05pm

we are heading into gallup, NM.. yippee i~yay! it is dark & cold... we pick up a few passengers. they all have blankets wrapped around themselves.. this must be a new mexico thing. 

i never really liked gallup i was here back in the 80s with my business partner at the time~ michi. we drove all over new mexico. gallup is know for it's pawn shops. they have some great items and indian heirlooms.  most of the natives here are down on their luck and pawn all their worldly possessions for liquor. perhaps these days it's crystal, but i i think not. new mexico has it's traditions. here liquor is king.

7:20pm

 the black~lesbianish conductor is making intercom announcements about what passengers can & cannot do. she is very strict~ 

"ladies & gentleman the stops at all stations are very short. if you decide to get off and have a cigarette break you might as well take your luggage because we will leave you."

earlier she had an intercom fight with one of the other conductors.. it went like this~

ashley:  ann i need you to come to the cafe car immediately.ann  i need you to please come to the cafe car now. ann.

ann:  ( the black~lesbianish conductor ) Ashley i will not be able to come until 10~15 minutes. i am busy.

ashley:  ann that is too long. i need you immediately. ann  i need you to please come to the cafe car now. ann this is urgent.

ann:   ashley i told you i cannot come now.

ashley:  ann i have a ticket boarding  discrepancy. i need you to come to the cafe car RIGHT NOW! ANN? ANN??

another voice:  ann is on her way.

i'm sorry, but i side with ashley.. ann is a pill.

7:32pm

there is a native american family seated next to me. i'm not sure if it is mother, daughter and grandson. or sisters and small son, or lesbian couple & small son. whichever way they are very beautiful. they have antique faces with modern clothing. the older woman, (she's not really that old) has beautiful long jet-black hair. the younger girl has the most beautiful face & hair. the young son is a little prince. he will grow up to be a heartbreaker. all three of them are texting. how are they getting a signal?

7:36pm

oh no.. i group of asian kids just sat next to me... one is wearing one-piece pajamas with star print!  i didn't even know they made those anymore?.. the fabric looks very flammable.
 i can tell they are going to get loud very soon.. my time here is numbered.

7:41pm

the native little prince boy is looking over at the asian kids table. either he wants to join in on their loud  game of rock-paper-scissors or he is also annoyed by their screams. i am guessing  he is annoyed because he is frowning.. he's so cute when he frowns. his sister or lesbian mom is eating a cup o noodles and texting. she is ambidextrous.

7:50pm

ok, the native little prince boy and his mother or sister just walked by me. she is definitely his mother, and i doubt very highly the other girl is her lover.. it's most likely her daughter or sister.

7:53pm

the native little prince boy and his mother are back.. they bought even more junk food! my gosh they have allot of junk food. between the three of them they have~ cup o noodles, potato chips, cokes, sweet rolls and cookies.. oops the the native little prince boy just caught me looking at his table.. i think he knows i'm writing about them. his mother has beautiful jet-black hair, but her body is way outta control. she is big. the daughter or sister has a nice figure, but you can tell if she keeps eating that junk food she will blow up like her mother. 

i am really one to talk.. since i've been in new mexico i must have gained 15 pounds or more. its so cold that there's not much else to do.. eating also keeps one warm. 
tomorrow when i'm back in LA i will start on a diet.

8:21pm

the loud asian kids have left! wow i cannot believe i outlasted them. as they left the boy with the one-piece pajamas picked the flannel pants out of his butt. that is so little kid~like.

8:25pm

the native little prince boy and his family have also left.... wow.. i'm outlasting everybody!

7:04am

now ann is making her last announcement thanking everyone for their business.. we wish we could say the same ann.

jan 14th~2013

6:59am

HI!~ i am now awake.. so yes i slept from approx. 9pm till now... give or take 6 hours of tossing & turning.. luckily everyone in my car was a snorer so we kept each other company...  we are arriving in riverside.

6:06am

the amish dad just walked by. he has a great body!

 the black~lesbianish conductor just walked by.. she is never in a good mood.

6:12am

my hot water with loose earl grey tea from raymond was a mistake. all the leaves keep rising to the top.. with most teas they settle, so i keep getting tea leaves in my mouth. 
i make a napkin screen, but this only works for a few sips and then disintegrates.  
not having my full cuppa tea this morn is gonna make me grumpy.. what was a good idea was to bring that linden-berry scone~ yummy. i also polished off raymond's tasty burrito. thanks raymond!

6:22am

wow we are almost in riverside which means we will get to union station very early. i'm not used to trains be ahead of time... for all my bitching & griping, i must tell you dear readers~ if you have the time and don't mind communal living~ the train is a really pleasant way to travel.. it's cheap, semi-comfortable and you see & meet, (if you want to) interesting people.. and the views of american country side are exceptional. 
ok~ i did my amtrak plug. where's my free ticket?

6:27am

the sun isn't even up yet and i can see the traffic snarled on the fwy.. 
wow~ welcome to LA... the minute the train crosses into california the landscape changes from vast deserts to sprawling fwys & suburbs. 

6:34am

i think i like mountain time better than pacific time. pacific time is too dark and it takes too long.

6:52am

we are now in fullerton... the sun is sorta coming up.

another intercom fight~

conductor: ( it is ann~ the black lesbianish conductor~ i recognize that voice) will a conductor pick up their footstool they left outside? we need to leave now.

another conductor: i am still working with a customer and helping them off............... 
ANN.... she is the BIGGEST PILL

6:57AM

boy these houses are ugly.

6:59am

the conductors are already cleaning the cars.. don't they usually wait until passengers have left the train?

7am

my large neighbor whom i determined was a male came back and gathered his belongings.. i gave him his pillow and thanked him for "sharing" hjs  seat. he laughed.. 

" i usually find a nice seat in the observation car," he says. 
"that what i usually do, but this time i didn't have to thanks to you.

I AM BACK IN LOS ANGELES.