Senior News
May, 2001
Vol. 20. No.  5

Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.

May is Older Americans Month

Dan Hauser: Government Chat ignites some electric issues

Remembering Spirit: Life on the Railroad

Senior Softball: Classics tournament team wins the silver medal at Redding games

Cat Man of Old Town

Washington School: Preservation Week honors old school buildings like ours

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Remembering spirit
Life on the Railroad
by Mauris L. Emeka

I used to take the train to and from college and often wondered what it would be like to work on one. My uncle, who was a Pullman porter during World War II, used to tell about his experiences on the train-and they excited me. As a result, when the opportunity to work as a train attendant came in the fall of 1989, I jumped at it. So at the age of 48, I landed a job as a train attendant with Amtrak.

I work mainly on Amtrak's long-distance trains. This requires me to be away from home up to six days at a time. I discovered early that the job offered some truly unique challenges and adjustments. I'm on the road for six days, then I'm readjusting to home life again-and sometimes making the transition from one to the other is not smooth.

In spite of the stresses inherent in such a job, railroading actually makes me feel thankful, humble, and more aware of the spiritual side of life. I am more aware of God's presence when I'm on the train. There is usually a wide cross section of people interacting with one another, and most of them are having fun and glad they're going somewhere. Such an atmosphere where passengers are often playful and spontaneous makes me appreciate many of the little things life has to offer.

Many things I have learned from passengers on the train have made an impact on my life. We taught our son at home as a result of my learning about home schooling from a family I met on the train. The experience of home schooling was of immeasurable value to our family. I learned from a retired schoolteacher about our constitutionally-guaranteed "Right to Contract," which is based on the common law and is integral to the exercising of those freedoms envisioned by our founding fathers. Indeed, it has been my good fortune to learn some practical and highly important civics lessons. But of all the things I have learned on board, the most rewarding has been learning to play the harmonica.

I feel blessed and lucky to be working on the railroad. The following are some thoughts I recorded while in my hotel room on Chicago layover in April 1993:

"I usually like being on board, yet I feel anxious whenever I leave home. It's a feeling that's intense, a feeling that words cannot fully describe. But once I make the adjustment from being at home to being on the railroad, I achieve a certain peace. And I can sustain that peace as long as I resist the temptation to pass judgment on others. While I'm on the road, laughing, singing, playing my harmonica and being of service all seem to come easy. Even in a difficult situation, it's easier to simply be in the flow of grace once I've made the adjustment to life on the railroad."

Trains have a magic not easily captured in words. But there are definitely times when, after a cross-country round trip, I'll step off of the train and head for home so exhausted that I do not want to hear anything about trains. Yet, I can honestly say that writing this article makes me look forward to my next trip! That's life on the railroad!

Mauris Emeka is a Seattle-based Amtrak train attendant who has authored two books about train travel. AMTRAKing was published in 1994, and Heart and Soul of the Train in 1999. Both books are popular among train lovers. To order, send $9.95 + $3 postage for each book to: Apollo Publishing. P.O. Box 1937, Port Orchard, WA 98366. Emeka is also a retired Army officer, and lives with his family in Port Orchard, Washington. His website is: www.trainweb.com/emeka

Emeka became a Senior News subscriber after picking up a paper on one of his non-train journeys through the Northcoast and offered to write about his experience.