Continued from previous post:
The train ride from London to Crewe lasted three hours. Crewe is a large town in south Cheshire, in the north west of England, and it was a stark change to London’s bustling urban environment. The windows of the train framed rolling hills of a lush rural countryside. Students, returning to school from break, stood in the isles or sat on the floor. (Clearly I consistently chose the ideal time to travel by train.) Luckily I found a seat on the overcrowded coach next to a middle-aged man and across from two elderly women. As I opened my notebook to slip into some reclusion and journal about the new friend I met in London, the old woman sitting directly accross from me opened her purse and removed numerous mini-bottles of alcohol and spirits. The middle-aged man inquired as to whether or not she thought it too early to be drinking.
She retorted, “It’s never too early for a drink.”
The talkative old woman and the middle-aged man engaged in a wonderful conversation, which I overheard as I vainly attempted writing in my journal. He was traveling to visit his son and grandchildren, and she was 80 years old, but did not look a day over 60. Her friend listened silently, nodding every so often in agreement. I filled pages of my cheap composition book with the old woman’s quotes about the importance of trust in a marriage and travel for the soul, as well as the energy of youth and the wonder of life. Continue reading
Click for more official JAFS sites.
