Showing posts with label Trains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trains. Show all posts

Saturday, December 23, 2023

How I Spent My Last Day Of Autumn 2023 (Part Two)

 

Life is like a train ride.


The passengers on the train are seemingly going to the same destination as you, but based on their belief in you or their belief that the train will get them to their desired destination they will stay on the ride or they will get off somewhere during the trip.

People can and will get off at any stop.

Just know that where people get off is more of an reflection on them, than it is on you.

There will be a few people in your life that will make the whole trip with you, who believe in you, accept that you are human and that mistakes will be made along the way, and that you will get to your desired destination - together, no matter what.

Be very grateful of these people.

They are rare and when you find one, don't let go of them - ever.

Be blessed for the ones who get on at the worst stops when no one is there.

Remember those people, they are special.

Always hold them dear to your heart.

Be very wary of people sneaking on at certain stops when things are going good and acting like they have been there for the whole ride.

For they will be the first to depart.

There will be ones who secretly try to get off the ride and there will be those that very publicly will jump off.

Don't pay any heed to the defectors.

Pay heed to the passengers that are still on the trip.

They are the important ones.

If someone tries to get back on the train - don't be angry or hold a grudge, let them.

Just see where they are around the next hard turn.

If they are buckled in - accept them.

If they are pulling the hand rail alarm again - then let them off the train freely and waste no space in your head for them again, ever.

There will be times that the train will be moving slow, at almost a crawls pace.

Appreciate that you can take in the view.

There will be times where the train is going so fast that everything is a blur.

Enjoy the sense of speed in your life, as it is exhilarating but unsustainable.

There will also be the chance that the train derails.

If that does happen, it will hurt, a lot, for a long time.

But there will be people who will appear out of no where who will get you back on track.

Those will be the people that will matter most in your life.

Love them forever.

For you can never repay these people.

The thing is, that even if you could repay them, they wouldn't accept it anyway.

Just pay it forward.

Eventually your train will get to its final stop and you will need to deboard.

At that time you will realize that life is about the journey AND the destination.

Know and have faith that at the end of your ride your train will have the right passengers on board and all the passengers that were on board at one time or another were there for a distinct purpose.

Enjoy the ride.

~John A Passaro
Life Is Like A Train Ride
 

Trains. Birds. The remainder of the Autumn Leaves. I suppose I spent the last day of Autumn 2023 the way I began Autumn this year, only a bit less maudlin perhaps. Autumn is now, and always will be, the great healer. It has always healed my heart, like no other time of year and this year was no exception. So, there isn't much to say about it, it' just helped me find my footing again, and I am forever grateful. Now, on to the rest of the holiday's!



 
 

Sunday, October 08, 2023

The Mossdale Railroad Bridge


 “Although I was born in April,
 I’m quite certain I was not fully awake until October."
 
~Peggy Toney Horton
 
 
I understand that sentiment. I was born in June, but because of my deep dislike for summer, it feels like I didn't fully become a person until autumn. October in particular. I love the month of October. I love learning about new things in October, as if I were a kid going back to school. I enjoy reading all year long, but it's during this time of year I like to pick up a great biography or a book on the history of a certain place, and jump right in. See this beautiful old railroad trestle? I have driven past it upwards of 200 - 300 times in the last 40 years, and other than admiring it, and the one that sits near it, I never really thought much of it. But the other day, while visiting, River Islands, in Lathrop, I glanced over, and it just seemed so great that I just had to photograph it. I am going to do more on the railroads out here, and the rich history of the Gold Rush days, but for now I present simply a pleasant picture and a link to a brief history of something really cool near where I live. 

 

 

Friday, December 20, 2019

The Santa Fe Train Of Old Sacramento

"Gone are the summer days and my mind with them. No longer will I indulge in hopes of getting you back. It is hope that makes these chains heavier and autumnal night longer. I will merely serve as a memory to you the lover that recited love poems. I must go now and I urge you to not look back."

~Kamand Kojouri

I love the sound of a train in the middle of the night. It's got such a lonely sound, and yet inside my heart it feels okay because I know it is busy at work, always going here or there on business and bringing people and things to planned stops safely. I think little by little, as I was growning up, I began to think of trains as friends. It was a sound I could hear when I was in bed that always made me feel safe, at 3:15 am every morning without fail. Now, wouldn't it be nice to have a train that could take you to your favorite memory, or season, any time you felt like booking passage? There must be an autumn town somewhere other than Heaven. Right? And I bet the train that could take me there would look a lot like the beautiful old Santa Fe train of Old Sacramento!


 For The Last Full Day Of Autumn...

#89 Leaf Of The Day
December 20th 2019
Stockton, California
Nikon

Autumn ends Saturday night so there will be one more leaf to see, so comeback tomorrow to see the very last Leaf Of The Day for Autumn 2019!

~Mood: Quiet
~Me 

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Established August 23rd 2003

"The restlessness and the longing, like the longing that is in the whistle of a far away train.
 Except that the longing isn't really in the whistle... it is in you."

~Meindert DeJong
The Little Cow And The Turtle

Here we are again! Another anniversary of Ellipsis! It continues to amaze me, that I haven't given up on this blog full stop. God knows I have been neglectful of it this year, posting my last entry for Valentine's Day! Giving up in winter, something I don't think I've done before! But, see, I just haven't been feeling it, it being the creative will to take pictures, and share the silly stories of the absurd things that tend to happen in life. My life. 

It's no mystery why I've felt so lost, creatively, it's the same thing I have been whining about since 2016, one Donald John Trump. His daily meltdowns, laughable/tragic/scary as fuck "leadership" drive me to a deep, dark, place inside me. I don't know half the time if I'm hiding in there, or lost and can't find my way out, or even if I want to be out.

I am on Twitter daily. I keep in touch with those I love. My friends. The celebrities that keep me sane, with their political views, or creativity, or positive energy. That's fun, and really kinda awesome, because who knew that there would ever come a day, when I could reach for a star, and not just interact, but let them know what their creativity has meant to me!

I missed that chance with John Ritter. Robin Williams. Anthony Bourdain. And countless others! Shrug. I don't know, I think about what I would have said to those who changed my life for the better, but they are stars in the sky now, and all I can do is look up at them, and smile, and hope somehow they know, I wouldn't be who I am, had their creativity not touched my life. 

So, it's not like Trump has taken my whole life from me. No, I can't lay that blame on him, but he sure hasn't helped things. It's on me to get back up! Autumn is just around the corner, and I am going to do my Autumn Leaf Series again. People on Twitter seem to enjoy it, so that will help! I hope. I saw a photograph on actor, Treat Williams, Twitter timeline today that took my breath away, and made me long for the excitement of feeling creative again! 

Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the Trump era! This week seems especially hopeful regarding a final legal end to this nightmare! I don't want to discuss it here, I will let history do that! I also just want to breathe right now, enjoy the turn of events that may soon lead to the veil being lifted, and the surreal fading away. Hope is a four letter word, and I hate it's guts, but it's a necessary evil, so we, me, can keep getting up, and remembering why I began this blog in the first place... to share my love of what's there, and what isn't there. You know what I mean?

Take that beautiful train. Some look and see a train, I looked and saw history! I saw transition. For some who rode it, hope played a part, as did convenience, and comfort, and maybe even creativity as well. I was also reminded of the creativity of different painters, and how they looked at trains, but saw art. They didn't paint their paintings to look like photographs, they made their paintings to reflect what only they saw, and that's my process too!

 I don't take photographs to look like photographs, I take photographs to look like what I see, as opposed to the bare bones of what's really there! I like to think of my photographs as instantaneous paintings! At least I try to. Only the viewer can tell me if I have succeeded! Art is in the hands of those who take the time, to stop and look. Sometimes you have to look inward, and through hopeful eyes at whats in front of you.

Read all about this lovely old train, by visiting the historical landmarks page, of the town of Ione, California.
 Just click on "Iron Ivan" above!

PS: Thank you, for sticking with me all these years! There will be more photo entries on Ellipsis, so please check back soon. Autumn is just around the corner, and that means one thing... leaves!

Mood: Grateful
Me :)

 

Monday, November 16, 2009

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #64: Trains








"Research has proven: Trains do not run on time, but on electricity."


-Loesje







EMPS #64: TRAINS NOW CLOSED!
WooooWoooo! All aboard! Grab your cameras and photograph TRAINS. As always, the type of TRAIN is entirely up to you. Thomas The Tank, or an old Western Pacific railroad car, it's all good! An abandoned railway station works, as does a modern subway. Anything relating to TRAINS will do nicely.

Extra Credit: Show me a conductor or engineer along with your TRAIN photos!

**PLEASE READ**
This Monday Photo Shoot assignment closes next Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET. That means you have nearly a week to get your photo, upload it to your website, blog or journal, and come back here with the direct link back to it. Please remember, the link you leave must be a link which is specific to this week's photo shoot assignment. Please double check the link you leave, as that is the one I will be adding to the Linking List next Monday. It is your responsibility to make sure the information you leave is correct. Also, please link back to this entry, so other folks will be able to find the assignment and play along. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at Ondinemonet@aol.com.

Linking List for EMPS #63: Downtown. 11/09/09

NOW CLOSED!

1. Suzanne

2. Shari

3. Mike

4. Karen

Thanks so much for your continued participation. See you next week with an all new photography assignment!

-Carly