Riding Rut

The train has been running along pretty much as scheduled for the last few days.  No one ever acknowledges when the train pulls out or arrives on time.  There for awhile it seemed like such a rare occurrence that it was news when departures and arrivals occurred as scheduled.  Now the riders have been lulled into thinking that the problems have been worked out and late arrivals and departures and breakdowns are things of the past.  I'm not so optimistic.  But I do appreciate the last week of uneventful commuting and I look forward to many more weeks like it.

Late Late Coffee Break

While I don't get on the morning train at the first stop, I do get on at the second and I am always amazed when the announcement is made that the train will arrive late to its second stop.  That's what happened this morning.  The announcement was made that the train would be arriving 10 to 12 minutes late with no explanation of the problem causing the delay.  That early in the morning I figure the delay is self-induced rather than caused by any technical malfunction.  After all, the train did arrive, it seems to be running smoothly, and all systems are a go.  Thus, I can only deduce that one of the crew was simply stuck in the drive thru at Dunkin' Donuts waiting to pick up coffee for the rest.  I just wish he or she would have grabbed an extra cup for me.

Chariot of Doom

As the train pulled up about 5 minutes late this morning, fellow rider L -- I don't want to use his full name -- announced loudly, "the chariot of doom arrives." It's the first time I heard our morning train so characterized but I kind of liked it, expecially today as we are getting progressively later with each stop we make.  No explanation for the cause of the lateness, but it is raining outside.  I guess rain and chariots don't mix.

Tea Time

I'm feeling rather British this morning, given all the hub bub about the royal wedding.  Therefore, to celebrate, I thought I would have a cup (or should I say spot) of tea on my train ride.  I must admit, it's a great way to start a Friday.  Enjoy your weekend.

Weather Report

Bad weather in Baltimore is affecting this morning's commute.  According to the conductor, lightening in the area is causing signal problems, which seems to be slowing the train down as the engineer has to wait for verbal signals to pass.  And while I haven't seen any lightening or rain for that matter, the clouds certainly look ominous.  I hope that signal malfunctions are the only problems this weather causes.

Another Monday

I usually work at home on Mondays, so Tuesday always feels a bit like Monday to me as I embark on the train ride to the city.  I catch up with my fellow passengers and try to get into the groove for the week ahead.  This week I have lots on my plate, so I've been silently reciting a mantra to be positive and productive.  Let's hope it works. 

Police Presence

The Aberdeen train station was teeming with police officers this morning.  There were at least six SUVs, a dozen  or so officers and even one canine.  I thought I had interrupted a major sting operation and was hoping I could regale my blog readers with a tale of intrigue today.  But alas, it is not to be.  As I began walking my morning laps and get a closer look at what was going on, one officer stopped me to hand me a card announcing the "See Something Say Something" campaign, encouraging people to report suspicious activity.  The card even contained "Seven Signs of Terrorism" to be on the look out for, including "elicitation, suspicious  persons out of place and deploying assets."  It was all very confusing because the very things I was supposed to report were the very things these police were guilty of.  I've never seen more than one officer at a time at the train station, and even that is a rare occurrence.  Today's officers were eliciting information about suspected terrorist activities and they had deployed a significant amount of assets to do it (did I mention the computer screens that appeared on the dashboards of the SUVs).  So I guess I need to say something.  I'm just not sure if anyone will take me seriously.  But the card reminded me to "report suspicious activity anytime or anywhere" because "if you think something is suspicious, it probably is."