The Train

Only a couple of months have passed since I took fingers to keys but it seems like years. There has been post-election drama, the hard to comprehend worsening of COVID deaths and destruction, the muddled vaccine roll out (but let’s be grateful, it is rolling out), the unbelievable chaos at our capitol by anarchists, and a presidential inauguration for starters. As if that is not staggering enough, and clearly it is, add in the celebration of Christmas, one of our holiest days of the year. I naively had hoped that the 25th of December might just mark the beginning of the promise that, as Americans, we might just pull together and unite again in pursuit of the American Dream. I was wrong.

I will let the pundits, philosophers, historians, and deep thinkers sort out all of the above and simply do what I think I am reasonably good at, that being, how does Gordy Taylor look at that which is important to me, and of course, that is family, friends, and our mutual journeys through life.

I don’t know who to thank, but recently somebody “out there” was kind enough to send my way “The Train of Life” by Malcolm Tilsed who is unknown to me but as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, he speaks for me:

“Life is like a journey on a train–With its stations…With changes of routes…And with accidents! At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believe they will always travel on our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. As time goes by, other people will board the train, and they will be significant i.e. our friends, children, and even the love of our life. Many will step down and leave a permanent vacancy. Others will go so unnoticed that we don’t realize that they vacated their seats which is very sad when you think about it. This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells. Success consists of having a good relationship with all the passengers…requiring that we give the best of ourselves. The mystery to everyone is we do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So we must live in the best way–love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are. It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty–we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life. I wish you a joyful journey this year on the train of life. Reap success and give lots of love. More importantly, give thanks for the journey! Lastly, I thank you for being one of the passengers on my train.”

We can all relate to our “own train ride through life,” and it is interesting how in one short paragraph, the journey each of us takes can be encapsulated succinctly and without verbosity or idle chatter. My train continues down the track. My parents and three brothers have all exited the train. In addition even more friends and other loved ones have exited than seems fair to me. I miss them. Each leaves wonderful memories. I do my best not to focus on the sadness each departure brings my way but rather the joy of knowing them. For Diane and me, our train keeps chugging along as our six grandchildren, family members, and new friends have gotten onboard. I have not yet met THE Engineer nor do I intend to for quite some time. Thus far the ride has been everything I could have imagined. We trust our journey will continue for many years to come. So it’s chug, chug, chug and may your own ride be a healthy, happy, productive, and long.