Jun
Rolling Moonbeams
Harry Nilsson, the musician, had a pleasant little tune called The Moonbeam Song. If you ever have a chance to listen to it, note the words. Somewhere in there, he seems to have crossed into space I know well. The song mentions a lot of the little things one sees when going out at night. I especially like the part of the “moving train.” There is something wonderful in seeing a long train moving across a field in moonlight.
I used to ride the train frequently. Most trips were in the evening. By the time I reached my destination, it was dark. The trip itself was a movement not only to a place, but through the end of the day. On the run up north, I could watch the setting sun’s light bathe mountains and give way to the growing shadows. The Shore run to the south saw the waning daylight glinting off bays and beaches interspersed with small towns. As you may have surmised, I usually was riding alone. I was alone, but not lonely.
Stepping off the train onto the station platform was like landing in a new world. There was the instant of being hit by the fresh air. Up North, it was the smell of forests and mountains. At the Shore, it was the brisk scent of the ocean and the inlets. Life jumps into your face in that little instant. There is the feeling that “I am here!”
I rarely ride a train any more. There is no point going north. There is no place to go any more, and no people to see. That part of my life ended almost like a whisper. There is no need to go south. The Shore is a short ride to the East now. Things are very different. Many of the arcades and other beachside things are gone. The Shore of today is not quite the shore of three decades past, yet it is still every bit as good.
The train can be a meditation. You can feel its rhythmic movement and the timed backbeat of the wheels clacking. You can sit and observe the day as you pass through it. And if you are really at peace, even for a moment, you get that feeling of being in the midst of something wonderful. It is both a movement and a stillness. And maybe you even get a feel for the Raido Rune as the train brings you to your destination. Somewhere in the journey and the destination you will find it.
There it is!
