adventures on the train....

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hey all~ so i just got back from vacation. due to my nerve disease i can't travel too often, and when i do it usually is by train (which even before my nerve disease was my preferred means of travel!). without fail i always have some great story(s) to tell after i get home from the train....this is no exaggeration, every time! the last 2 trips my train was delayed (at the same station) the first one was between 6 and 8 hours (it was a few years ago so i don't remember the exact amount of time) this past time was just 1 hour. but that one hour delay set the stage for one of my best train rides ever! the locomotive broke down and had to be switched out w/ an older, weaker locomotive. this caused them to have to drop one train car and cram passengers into the remaining cars thus splitting up some people who were traveling together (like me and my best friend). we boarded the train around dinner time and we're sitting close enough to still be able to talk. so we decided to make a reservation for dinner in the dining car. now let me explain the dinning car rules real quick....you can sit with your party, but any empty seats WILL be filled, usually with total strangers. of course this makes sense as space is limited, it also sets the stage for some great 'single serving friendships' (i stole that phrase from fight club) this was the way our dinner went down. we were seated then a few minutes later a nice lady joined us, then a few more minutes and a nice gentleman joined us. so our table was full! as we looked over the menu we realized we would for sure enjoy the food, but thats not what made this the best dinner i've had in a long time. it was the conversation with the two single serving friends me and my best friend had made. we had so much in common and so much to talk about that any 3rd party observers would have thought we were all old mates! we talked about our common interests in philosophy, psychology, comedy and more. we talked about where we had been, what we had experienced about cultural attitudes and drug policies. we wound up just talking for well over 1 1/2 hours, we all enjoyed our meal time more then ever before! all because we were willing to sit with a complete stranger(s) and just open up and be real! we weren't judgmental, we weren't antagonistic,....we just sat there being real with one another and that is what lead to my greatest train adventure! what's your story? ~j