RICK CASTRO TAKES A TRAIN TRIP~ 2012 EXCURSION

yes dear readers~ it is that time of year again for me to take my annual new years eve retreat.  it's been a tradition for me to travel on new years eve to someplace remote & quiet. preferably in nature. 

this tradition started way back in 1988 when a group of us~(vaginal davis, fertile Latoyah jackson, george byron~aka~"mommie", (RIP) tyrone & edith, and a couple others got together to hit a bunch of new years eve parties. the first was a glamourous Beverly Hills party hosted by the son of gene kelly. it was packed with wealthy, snobby~ bores.

 we decided to leave and got stuck in traffic. then we tried to go to another party, but the energy was too violent.  we decided to get something to eat. everything was packed so we got popeye's fried chicken take out on hollywood blvd and went back to my place. 

at the time i was living on ardmore st. just off melrose, directly next to the 101 fwy. it was a dive, but cheap and big. we ended up having a blast with just our group, and made a pack to never go out on new years eve again. the following new years eve of 1989, everybody forgot we made that pack. everyone except me. i drove out to joshua tree on my own and had an incredible time. it was relaxing, cathartic, centering and beautiful. i've been spending new's years eve OMO, (on~my~own) in a remote, natural setting ever since.

this year i am traveling once again to visit antebellum artist~ RAYMOND SANDOVAL~ who lives high in the mountains of new mexico~ 2 hours above Albuquerque. this is about the 4 or 5th time i've visited raymond. i enjoy NM & jemez springs more each time.

 i've been told people really enjoy my notes & rants as i travel about, so please feel free to leave any comments~

december 31st~ 6:11pm~ 

we have just pulled out of union station ~ Los Angeles, on the train called~ Southwest Chief.  i was able to go online and saw on raymond's Facebook that he is snowed in?!! perhaps this will mean i'm staying in Albuquerque~ downtown for new years day?!

i brought a bottle of red wine that my nephew brought back from Bordeaux, france awhile ago,( chateau siran~margaux~ 2006).  i was waiting for a special occasion~ but that occasion never came so i will guzzle it tonight. i also brought a nice slice of sheep's milk cheese, sourdough bread, avocado, chocolate, dried apricots & raisins so i am set!

6:29pm~ just my luck.... i am seated next to a Vietnamese woman who doesn't speak a stitch of english. she is nervous, skittish and very loud. so far she is talking incessantly on her phone. also texting. a gentleman walked by her, sensed her disposition  and said to her, "are we having fun yet?" she didn't understand. 

across from her is a cute~hip redhead girl and an even cuter guy! i can't tell if they are brother & sister, BF & GF, married, or all of it. he has a beautiful face and looks like he plays the air-horn for yoga classes. he's wearing a beanie. i could do without the beanie... i'm curious about his hair. 

6:55pm~ we just hit fullerton, orange county. have you ever been there? not much to say about it.. the area is called the "orange curtain" because there are so many republican/conservative types. 

the sexy black conductor just walked by. i flag him down and he responds~ "what's up boss?" ... (oh i like that!) "can i move?" i ask. "here i am," he responds.  he then walks away, so i'm not sure what that means.

ok.. i have moved.. the second they took our tickets i was outta there.. goodbye grumpy Vietnamese lady. good bye cute brother& sister or GF & BF or husband & wife.  oh he just took off his beanie and he also has red hair. just like his sister or GF or wife. actually i think he's gay.

7:02am~ i am walking up to the observation car. this man passes me and asks me~ "where is the dining car?.. do i need a reservation?" "i don't know," i tell him. he looks at me incredulously. i am wearing a black shirt & tie therefore he thinks i'm the conductor. 

i learned this little travel tip from my taos artist~ RAY WIGER. he says~"always dress up when you travel. you are treated better and with respect."

7:10am~

this wine keeps changing flavor.. it is so complex. the most complex wine i've had to date. some people tell me i'm complex, so perhaps i am like this red wine.

7:29pm~ i love this wine!  i am @ a table in the observation car.  the tables next to me are filling up. there are two fattish white girls playing cards. as they walked by the train lurched and one of the fattish girls fell on me. "i'm so sorry," she said. "no worries, " i replied. behind them is a youngish Latina girl with a laptop, headphone, iphone and everything wired. she's so modern.... she is also on the plump side. behind her is a middle~age white man who keeps reading the menus over & over.  next to him are some old white chaps who brought their own beer.  i predict they will get plastered.  in front of me is a lonely black guy with a bottle of water.  it looks like he brought it from home.  to the side of me is a table empty, but there's tons of trash and left-over food items. i wonder if someone will claim them?

(BTW~ i distinguish people by ethnic background,  gender, age & size~ so you~ my dear readers~ can get a visualization of the characters on the train, not because i'm racist or any other distinction.

7:35pm~ oh~ i just realized that the fattish girls are actually a mother and her young daughter. my mistake... or as yuppie's say~ "MY BAD." I hate that phrase and would never say it.

7:37pm~ have i told you how amazing this wine is???! the guy just re~read the menu for the 10th time. he's getting up... drink in hand. he passes me like a zombie. the  fattish lady who fell on me keeps looking at me... i think she is jealous of my wine. she would probably leave her young daughter in a heartbeat just for a sip..... the lonely black guy just came back.. i guess from the toilet... he seems despondent.

7:41pm~ this black guy just walked pass me into the dining car. he is wearing the most baggy getup i have seen in a longtime. the hoodie is oversized. the t-shirt is down to his knees.  the pants so baggy you could fit two people in them. he looks like a gunny sack. he changed his mind about eating. perhaps he's too "underdressed" for the dining car?

 he walks by me again~ eyeing my wine.

7:50pm ~ we are in riverside. the guy that kept reading the menu just walked past me and into the dining car. i'm sure he knows what he'll order since he's been looking @ the menu for the last 2 hours.

the wine now tastes peppery.

7:56pm~ two nerdy~fat~white guys just came out of the dining car and took the seat of the guy who kept reading the menus. the are such geeks. they look like they would wait in line to see the hobbit and bring dungeons & dragons on their laptops to kill time. one of them  is the size of a small house.

8pm~ i poured myself another glass of this amazing red wine, and the fattish girl who fell into me looked at me like she was sooooo pissed that i had wine and she did not... well think ahead bitch. it's new years eve. plan your trip better next time.. instead of a dull deck of cards you could've packed an imported wine.

we're now in san bernardino.. this train is booking!.. like a speed demon.

8:03pm~ the  hurried female conductor just packed up all the trash & left-over food @ the table next to me and whisked it away. i can't wait to see who sits there!

two fat girls just joined the fat nerdy guys.. looks like they are husband-wife- son & daughter! it's so hard to tell when they are all so gigantic. i could see all of them watching the hobbit playing dungeons & dragons together. then when the boy looses he'll pull out a semi~automatic weapon and blow them all away. at that time the NRA will make an announcement condemning the hobbit & dungeons and dragons.

8:08pm~ the high~tech Latina girl moved behind me in an observation chair.. she has a blanket around her legs and is on her laptop & headset... how cutes.

oh baby... this wine just changed again... it is now sooo smooth. .. like velvet.. it goes very well with my sheep cheese, sourdough bread & dried apricots. some wines need a little food to bring out the flavor.

8:11pm~ did i tell you dear readers that after a very hectic year i am on this train-  on new years eve, by myself, having a blast.. i would not want to be anywhere else... this is perfection.

the high tech Latina just caught me eyeing her.... sorry doll, i'm just fishing for more material.

8:17pm~ the fat~nerdy son is very boisterous. his fat mother shushed him... i just know them guns will be coming out soon.

someone behind me is playing the guitar.. he's not very good, but it's somehow pleasant.. for some reason i think he's a veteran. i can't see him, but i suspect he is.

8:20pm~ the fattish mother & girl just left the table and walked by me. she gives one last look at my bottle of wine.. sorry lady.

8:22pm~ the fat nerdy son is having a fit because he had all queens and his nerdy sister had kings... i think they're playing cards although i suspect he is a future "queen."

he puts his head in his hands and keeps shaking his head in despair.  he tells his family, ' you all are a bunch of martyrs. he's a real "drama queen."

8:31pm~ PS~ the lonely black guy seated in front of me turned out to be a lonely white guy. it was not water he was drinking, but liquor.  he is drunk! a group of like 10 loud people tried to push their way into the dining car and were turned away since they have no reservation. it is getting wild on the SOUTHWEST CHIEF!

THIS WINE IS SO GOOD I JUST DON'T WANT IT TO END.

8:37PM~ awwww. the young high~tech Latina girl left.... i miss her.

8:38pm~ just saw the moon~ she is big and yellow. 

8:40pm ~ two glamourous~glittery lesbians just left the dining car. they both have "doggie bags." as they walk by me they both smile... gaydar? they backtrack and sit in the seats where the fattish woman & daughter were sitting..  they also take out a deck of cards.. oops no, they changed their minds. they left.  they are both wearing shiny outfits.. kinda like the tweakier john who painted the andy Warhol factory silver way back in the 60s. he locked himself in the factory toilet and did not come out for one year... at the end of the year andy found a note in the toilet that read~ " i have left and i am fine." this is according to andy Warhol from his book- A to Z.

8:48pm~ this train is going so fast... it's scary! oh wow.. i went to cut my sheep cheese and i hit my hand!  if it was a sharp knife i'm sure there would be blood. do you think i'm a bit tipsy?

8:52pm~  the moon is sooo bright!

8:54pm~ a train just passed us going the opposite way.. it was sooo fast, loud and close! 

i think i'm drunk... you know i'm a light~weight.

8:57pm~ the nerdy son is pissed off about something.... boy i'm glad they don't allow guns on a train... or do they?

9:02pm~ the nerdy wife just wished her nerdy family a happy new year. she has a very extreme southern drawl.

9:04pm~ the wine changed again... the bouquet has become softer and the flavor more delicate.... i love "her."

9:05pm~ two children, (brother & sister just walked by me wearing matching punkesque t~shirts. they are cutes.. the girl looks like a young christina richey.... actually so does the boy. they must be like all of 13 years old.

9;09pm~ the nerdy son, daughter & mother all walked pass me @ the same time, leaving the nerdy father on his own. where did they go? did they really go to the restroom all together? what dorks!

9;10pm~ we are in Victorville! a white trash couple are embracing @ the train station. they embrace for a very long time..... so long that their kids walk away to the car.. i know i sound cynical, but it's actually a very sweet thing to watch.

9:15pm~ the punkesque t~shirt wearing kids walked by me again.. actually i think they're more like 11 yrs of age.

9:18pm~ three different conductors walked by me.. and there are two more in the dining car, including the sexy, black conductor.  how many conductors does one train need?

9:20pm~ the nerdy son is giggling profusely.. i guess he thinks he has a good hand of cards... i hope for all our sakes he does.

9;50PM~ a family has seated themselves next to me where the trash & leftover food used to be.. they are dull.. time to move.

10:04pm~ ok, i moved.. i've found a place where there are not so many people and definitely NO CHILDREN~. it is so dark & quiet. perhaps i'll get some sleep, but i cannot. i'm so wired & drunk and having so much fun,'

11:20pm~ have you heard the gennie goose- version of creep?~ "when you we're here before. i couldn't look you in the eye. you're just like an angel. your skin makes me cry... you thought in a beautiful light.. you're so very special... i wish i was special.. but i,m a creep. i'm a whinier.. what the hell am i doing here? i don't belong here.... i don't belong here"

12pm~ happy new year~! i am in a section of the train alone in the dark, it is very quiet and still... everyone around me is asleep. i feel so alone, yet warm & fuzzy. i am content..

 i will catch some zzzzz the way someone my age should.

4:32am~ 2013~  "SIR, WE'RE GETTING MORE PEOPLE ON BOARD SO YOU MAY HAVE TO MOVE... SIR, SIR." the annoyingly loud lady conductor just woke me from my dream-sleep. "the other conductor, (the sexy black one) told me i could move," i sluggishly reply. "well i'm just saying," she responds. 

we are in some tiny train-stop of a little town.. there is allot of snow. this midwestern lady with a long witchy nose walks by me. "what city is this?" i ask.... she takes a pause...... "flagstaff, " she finally responds. 

"thank you," i say. so we are in flagstaff, AZ... i remember the time raymond, me and his republican friend~matt had car trouble  just out of flagstaff.  i had to use my AAA for a tow, as my cellphone was dying. the tow~truck driver would not allow three guys in his truck. we had to ask a cop to drive one of us. when i got back to LA i made a complaint to AAA and got a free year membership. it sounds good, but i actually had to go into the main AAA offices and speak with a manager in person. 

5am~   "SIR, WE'RE GETTING MORE PEOPLE ON BOARD SO YOU MAY HAVE TO MOVE... SIR, SIR." the annoying loud lady conductor is at it again. "the other conductor told me i could move," i tell her again. "well that was not me. i need to keep this area open for more passengers @ our next stop. (PS~ it is 2 hours away) you were assigned to one space only, so you will need to move to your original seat." she is on a rampage.

"this guy in front of me is not in his original seat. that person is not in there original seat. there is stuff here next to me~ so somebody else is not in there original seat, " i am responding grumbling.. after all she woke me up twice!  "listen, she says,  this is my car and those are my belongings so when the train gets full i will sit there. "  "ok. i'm leaving, " i say and start to shut down my laptop & gather my belongings.  she thinks i'm not moving so goes an tells another conductor. " i said i was moving," i yell to her. "i'm collecting my belongings.  she is a pill.... i walk by her and she is a stone of a woman, i'll tell you.. the sexy black conductor does nothing to help me in this debacle. BTW~ when i announced that other people were not in their seats... they all scurried like cockroaches back to their seats.  this conductor must be one helluva ball~breaker. 

obviously ray wiger's tip about dressing up didn't score me any points with this broad.

5:10am~ i walk back to my original seat.. the loud Vietnamese woman is fast asleep and has sprawled all her items in bags on my seat.. i can't wake her up.... what am i to do?

 i go and hang out in the toilet for awhile.... it's better than nothing...

5:20am~  i go back to my original seat an collect the pretzel i bought @ union station. i also get my other foodie items.. i'm rustling thru my overhead luggage. i get the feeling the people next to me think i'm stealing from the luggage.. to dispel this i spend allot of time and just take small items and not the overall luggage. 

5:27am~ i make my way back to the observation car making a stop @ the cafe car. i ask the polite english attendant , (she was very polite to me earlier in the eve) for a cup of hot water. she gives it  to me for free. suddenly the annoyingly loud lady conductor is in front of me. she is buying a sweet roll. we reluctantly make eye contact.. we despise each other. 

 i can tell you right now~ she does not need that sweet roll. 

5:30am~ i go to the observation car and find myself a nice quiet table to spread out my early morning tea. OH PENIS~ i cannot find the sheep cheese, dried apricots & chocolate! i must have left them @ the seat in the car of the annoyingly loud lady conductor. that means i will have to go back there again... oh i dread it.. she probably took all my foodie items and ate them with her sweet roll. 

5:34AM~ there a few guys in the observation car making small talk. one guys is in complete orange neon coveralls from head to toe... why?? they look like they work for the highway or are going fishing....

 he is very bright.. you can see him a mile away.

a young conductor walks by me. he is wearing so many layers he looks like a boy in his father's oversized clothing.. he's cute as a button. he  sees me give him "dyke eyes." it makes him nervous.

where were you when that annoyingly loud lady conductor was harassing me?! why didn't you come to my rescue? 

5:41am~ we have stopped in Winslow, AZ. even in the dark i know this train station by heart. "she" is a beauty~ circa 1920~ restored to "her" original glory. i see many people leaving, but no one getting onboard. 

what that annoying loud-lady conductor doesn't realize is that i know this train schedule like the back of my hand... i've been on this train before lady... there is only one stop left. gallop, NM.

 i can guarantee the train will not fill up @ gallop. why the whole town is only a few dozen people....  just kidding, but you get the idea.... i am on a roll!

5:50~ the sun is just starting to come up.. i can see a glimmer on the horizon... it is majestic. 

6am~ we just passed a teepee motel somewhere in NM.. i didn't realize there were any others, besides the one in san bernardino,CA.

6am~ ohmygod... the cute redheaded~ brother/sister or BF/GF or husband/wife just sat next to me... i am so excited!

6:20am~ the cute redheaded~ brother or BF or husband is talking about "life highways." kinda existential. he sounds dumb i'm sorry to say.

6:32am~ they get up and leave. they were waiting for their reservation in the dining car. when he stands i get a full view of him.. he is definitely gay as a 2 dollar bill. no straight guy wears "leggings."

6:37am~ a small little boy walks by me. he is just learning to walk.. he is cute as a button. he is accompanied by his mum.

6:40am~ the sexy black conductor walks by me with a full tray of food. it is for himself.... a lot of help you were mr. "whatever you need boss."

6:50am~ the cute redheaded~ brother or BF or husband walks by me on his own.. he is GAY, and very swishy... you never know.

6:55am~ i walk past the sexy black conductor and tell him, "that other conductor made me go back to my original seat!" where are you headed boss?," he responds.  'Albuquerque." say i. " get your ticket and come sit in my car." he says. "ok i will" i respond with glee. as i walk back to collect my things. the annoyingly loud lady conductor says to me, "where are you headed sir?" "Albuquerque" i respond dryly. "if you want to place your ticket on this seat i have no problem with you staying here for the duration." now she tells me after waking me up twice and putting me thru unnecessary grief. "the other conductor, (the sexy one- i want so badly to say) has allowed me to sit in his car," i proudly tell her.

 "suit yourself," she says with a sneer. we are mortal enemies.

I collect my things and say good-bye to the grumpy Vietnamese lady.. she seems happy for my good fortune.  i walk back to the sexy black guys car, passing the annoyingly loud lady conductor with my head held high. i enter the sexy black guy's car and hand him my ticket. "you are set. you are good to go boss," he says. he is now even sexier to me.... i am home!

7:10pm~ there is so much snow i call raymond to make sure he can get down the 
mountain. " if i can't make it out  i have plan B~ to borrow my friend's 4 wheeled jeep" says raymond. "ok, raymond see you soon." he is so sweet and capable. what a real person he is. not like all those flaky hollywood~ "acquaintances" littering my life.

7:20am~ we are in gallop, NM.. full of snow.. it is a beauty. allot of people have gotten off....  i see a gas station where gas costs~ $2.93 a gallon... california gets ripped off by gas companies and local/state taxes.

7:25am- an indian family~ as in native american~ sits behind me. they are sweet, but very chatty. the young native, tubby boy says everything he is thinking.... do you know this type of personality?~

"i'm cold... where's my blue blanket? i don't want that one. it' s too girly. the train is usually late... this time it was early... i usually go to this shop on the corner. my coach says i can try out this season." etc, etc. i'm sure you get the picture my dear readers.

8:03am~ there is so much snow.. it is a real beauty.. a nice white blanket. along side the railroad tracks we are next to route 66. the first/oldest interstate highway in america. i've driven "her" many times, but not all the way thru.

9"06am~ there is a hottish white-trash guy with bad teeth chatting up someone in the observation car.. i cannot see the person he's chatting up, but if i go by his body language i can guarantee it's a girl.

he is pulling out all the stops.. pumping his chest out.. acting all swarmy.. exuding false machismo. after awhile he gives up... he walks by me. he is tall and lean- 20somethingish... he's wear a backwards baseball cap. red sunglasses and a marilyn monroe t~shirt.. what a disaster. 

9:10am~ my curiously got the best of me and i walked up to see who he was chatting...
 it was a midwest nerdy guy! you never know... you just never know... i guess the marilyn monroe t~shirt should've given me a clue.

10AM~ we are pulling into Albuquerque. we are very early.. i knew this train was going fast... the engineer was booking the entire trip. at times it seamed unsafe. 

i go back to my original seat and gather my belongings.. the grumpy Vietnamese lady is long gone. 

 the cute redheaded~ brother/sister or BF/GF or husband/wife are next to me... they are purposely ignoring me.. i guess i come off as a stalker. he is definitely wearing leggings.. 
he has a big dick!

10:10am~ we get off the train. i politely allow the young mother and cute little boy who's learning to walk ahead of me... what a mistake!.. the stairs are too high for him.. it takes forever! i would carry him, but my hands are full with all me luggage... this is like molasses. he stumbles... oh no.. i'm so concerned about him.. he really is a little doll. we finally get on the tarmac.. "look"says the young mother, "there's your mommie!" the little boy squeals. so  she was not his mum.. perhaps his aunt?

the mum is native american.. it's great to be in an area where there are lotsa native americans. 

10:15am~ i'm early so i make my way into the train station and get some hot water for a cupppa tea.. yes i bring my own tea.. i am a tea snob. 

i was gonna sit @ a table but the cute redheaded~ brother/sister or BF/GF or husband/wife have taken it... they don't seem very inviting so i sit on my own @ a bench.

someone is there to greet them.. perhaps a sister or relative... she also has red hair.. they are definitely brother & sister. not lovers. he is gay.. cute.. kinda dumbo, and has an air horn... i bet he teaches yoga or meditation.. something new~age.

seated across from me is a handsome earthy black man, and his white wife... they have a weenie dog wearing a pink sweater.. they are a sweet couple. you can tell they are in love. the wife is older and bald... i'm assuming she's going thru chemo. she leans her bald head on his shoulder. they are beautiful.. the weenie dog included. there is something so noble about them.. i see them as the modern- middle american couple; interracial, struggling.. doing what they can to stay afloat.. facing life's odds and challenges together. their bus has arrived. they get up to leave.. the wife says to the weenie dog, "get up and follow daddy." the dog drags it's leash down the train station... everyone in the train station let's out a collective ~awwwww.

"have a safe trip everybody she announces.. happy new year to all".. she flashes me a big smile...

i don't know her, but i love her.. she is an angel.