My very elderly, but spunky mother used to travel to our home in Michigan from her home in Washington, DC on the train. Although she has flown on airplanes many times, in her later years she has taken the stand that if God wanted her to fly, He would have given her wings.
She had come for a visit and as we put her on the train we just had a sense of uneasiness for her safe travel. One of our older sons was in Washington for some event, and was staying at her home in her absence. His assignment was to meet Grandmother's train and take her home.
The trip is long because of the many stops these trains make, so what would be eight hours by automobile, is actually 13 hours or more by train. This is not an ordeal for mom because she packs meals, books, Cd's and more. Plus she enjoys meeting and conversing with fellow passengers. It has always been a pleasurable adventure for her.
Well, we put her on the train, we made sure she had her valuables in a secure place, said a prayer, kissed her goodbye and went home to wait for her phone call when she arrived home.
This particular train leaves the Toledo, OH station at around midnight with an expected arrival time into Washington, DC at 2:00 PM. So, when by 4:00 PM I had not heard from her, I called my son who told me he had gone to the station, but she was not on the train. He was frantically looking for her. I said, I know she was on that train, because we put her on it. His alarm caused me to be concerned. I told him to continue to look and call me back.
Well, he found the conductor for the train she had supposedly been on and the two of them looked for her. They started at one end of the train and went into every car, but she was not to be found. What they did not know is that one of the baggage porters had offered my mom a ride from the train on the baggage cart and she was on her way to the station, riding comfortably on her little shuttle. Apparently, she and my son had crossed paths and missed one another. So while he was frantically looking for her, she is wondering where he was!
Getting tired of waiting, she checked her luggage into a locker and caught a cab and went home. At about 5:00 PM I called her house and she answered, hello... Wow, you're home! Yes, she said, I waited for my grandson, but he did not show. lol funny! I called my son, who was absolutely distraught by this time and told him where grandmother was! Blank, blank, blankity blank! Now I have to go get her, and bring her back here and then take her home again! I know that explosion was in reality a great big sigh of relief. I wish I had had a video camera!
