It has a certain aesthetic
The train is one of the most magical places on Earth, anything is possible. The air is stale, the views are breathtaking, and the strangers are both friendly and inconsiderate. Public transportation in general is its own kind of world, and trains are by far the best vessel. Now the trials and tribulations of getting on the train deter many, and I believe the Poughkeepsie Train Station is out to get me. This was my first time taking an Amtrak train and a train heading upstate, typically I take Metro-North to the city and haven’t had any problems, until today. The Poughkeepsie train station sent me and other passengers to the wrong track to catch the train causing the train to pass by us. Luckily, I was able to transfer my ticket to a later train but I was stuck at the Poughkeepsie train station for an extra 3 hours.
Back to the magic of trains. Once you get yourself a seat, hopefully alone and with a window, all you have to do is have a perfect soundtrack. On this train ride, I listened to the Ultraviolence album by Lana Del Rey in full and then started shuffling tracks by The Neighbourhood. Very 2014 Tumblr-esque. Not bad, but I dropped the ball in not making a playlist dedicated to this train ride. Also, this music totally did not match my view pictured below, which proved to not allow me to be moody and thoughtful with my head resting against the glass like the picture I found on Pinterest above.
The Amtrak had wifi, which was slow as expected, but is now working as I type this. Hopefully, I’ll publish this from the train. It also had a dining car which I was excited for and then thoroughly underwhelmed by. That’s alright though, because the music is enough to romanticize a train ride. (Trains operate at a level higher than the normal world allowing them to be easily romanticized.)
Now, where am I going? Well, I am in fact off to see Chappell Roan live and I couldn’t be more excited. I even was describing her music to a nice lady at the train station, who listened and said she enjoyed it. She then revealed she was a Jehovah’s Witness. So. You win some, you lose some. I was just proud of myself for interacting with strangers. Stranger danger has gone too far, let’s have some community people. (I am terrified that I will be abducted often and believe I could easily end up speaking to the wrong person.)
Moving on, I will update over the weekend how the concert goes and if you don’t know who Chappell Roan is, do you live under a rock? Have some taste and give her a listen. The Jehovah’s Witness described her as having a voice Taylor Swift wishes she had. I’ve put my favorite Chappell Roan track below so now you have no excuses.
Kisses,
Keaton
PS: I’m still reading Romantic Comedy