Sorry, not in service.


e51383dc27d5f028f25b4dc586ab5d8a

 

It seems that our public transportation people don’t want us to leave town today before 7am.

I mean, I really don’t want to either, but there is a certain requirement within my employment contract that requires me to arrive before seven in order to not be there on a Friday.

The pounding rain has dispirited me this week to the point where walking was the last thing that I wanted to be doing. At a certain point on my twice weekly walk the train would swoosh past, the two carriages quietly gliding along the rails with scant occupants, all of whom were silent in their own digital worlds.

It was too early for anything else.

So yesterday all went went as I purchased my ticket from the machine, (the lights of the station were on but nobody was present) the carriages duly pulled in and soon departed, three minutes later I was decanted 2 miles away on to another rain and wind swept platform.

There is something utterly unromantic about a commuter train, there is no large assuming engine huffing or chugging away at the front and the tired carriages smell vaguely of wet dog (I did check that it wasn’t me as the rain had penetrated quite well). I do appreciate the swiftness and efficiency of diesel engines but they are really really boring.

That was yesterday when all went to plan.

Today was a different story.

The glowing display board cheerily announced that the 6:10 was cancelled. That was all, no explanation, no apologies, no bus replacement, nothing! To be fair, a small van would have been sufficient to carry the disappointed few who slowly appraised the situation, repeated the phrase on the display and melted away into the darkness.

I foolishly imagined that there would be a bus heading out my direction, but as I charged between stops glancing always backwards it soon became apparent that every bus in the town was going the other way. I have long played the, beat the bus to the next stop, game. My impatient nature when it comes to travel takes over, I would rather be driving a ten mile detour that sitting stationary for an hour.

When I was in school our finishing time was thirty minutes before the high school and this required waiting on a bus until they came out. The up side was that you got a good seat but on sunny days I would often bolt out of school and run the miles home in an attempt to beat the bus. This gave me some odd sense of achievement and arriving home before my sister was an added bonus, for me anyway,  she thought I was mad.

Today there was no bus to beat.

Just an incessant drumming of rain on my hood for the grumpy walk.

Today could have just descended from that point onwards, the first conversation I had was to inform me of a howling error that I had made on Monday. It was a MASSIVE disaster to the the messenger, gravity was not my friend today either. Everything, and I mean everything fell to the floor one thing after another.

Any one of those things would have floored me even just a few months ago.

The world shattering problem was not, as it turned out it took half an hour to rectify. My trousers are now dry and all the minor irritations (for that’s what they were) are drifting away on the river of time.

What changed?

About five minutes away from work I began to pray. I did not go through a huge liturgy or kneel down, it was too wet! It was just a heart felt plea for peace, and that was it.

And sitting here writing this, I have it!

 

 

Previous Entries The elephant in the room. Next Entries Unexpected

12 thoughts on “Sorry, not in service.

  1. I was honored to obtain a call coming from a friend as soon as he
    found out the important tips shared on your site.
    Going through your blog publication is a real excellent experience.

    Many thanks for considering readers just like me, and I would like for you
    the best of success as a professional in this field.

  2. I don’t know if it’s just me or if everybody else encountering
    issues with your blog. It seems like some of the written text within your content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them as well?
    This may be a issue with my browser because I’ve had this happen before.
    Cheers

  3. I’ve been exploring for a little for any high
    quality articles or blog posts in this kind of area .
    Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this web site.
    Reading this info So i’m satisfied to convey that
    I have an incredibly good uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed.
    I so much undoubtedly will make certain to do not fail to remember this site and provides it
    a glance on a constant basis.

  4. Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the
    blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  5. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and
    in accession capital to assert that I get in fact enjoyed account your blog posts.
    Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you
    access consistently fast.

  6. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog.
    It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me
    to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to
    create your theme? Great work!

  7. After looking over a few of the articles on your
    blog, I honestly appreciate your way of writing
    a blog. I book marked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back
    in the near future. Take a look at my website too and let me know what you think.

  8. Wonderful article! That is the type of information that
    should be shared around the internet. Disgrace on the search engines for no longer positioning this submit higher!
    Come on over and discuss with my web site .

    Thanks =)

  9. That is really interesting, You are an overly
    skilled blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look ahead to searching for more of your great post.
    Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks

Comments are closed.