...Crawlin 'Round the Bend

So it begins.

We started our journey in Jefferson City, Missouri--an unlikely starting-point for a journey to Beijing. The train station was a historic hotel near a botanical garden and the tracks themselves were reminiscent of sleepy Arkansas freight-train depots. The wonder waned, however, as we waited four hours for the late train.

Our fellow passengers were a varied lot. Four were parolees with their officers in tow. Those guys had nothing but paper bags, parole papers and pressed khakis. By the way they looked at the women, I realized they'd probably been locked up for a while. There were also pale, midwestern women with designer pillows and dignified single mothers with well-behaved children. And then there was the fellow with the cell-phone earbud who simply couldn't handle the delays. I think he used the blue tooth as an excuse to gesture wildly, yell and pace incessantly on the train platform and train aisles. Honestly, I don't think he had anybody on the line half the time.

He'd say: " I ain't NEVER takin' amtrak again as long as I live--and I don't care if I live to be NINETY!" And, "This is the train ride from HELL! The only worse thang would be a wreck!"

We listened to the details of his life for 7 hours--a $2,000 water bed with a canopy and mirrors, a mentally-handicapped daughter, a girlfriend, and a wife.

We also experienced the large-chested single mother who traveled with us the whole journey. She had a tremendous speaking voice that filled the entire train car with her life story, too. Apparently, her husband is in jail, but a mysterious "Bob" was waiting for her at home that evening. We heard long phone conversations with her incarcerated husband and Bob, among other friends, relatives and acquaintances. But, I have to hand it to her: she was a woman full of piss and vinegar, holding her own and caring for a child from the beginning to the end of the journey

All in all, we only arrived 4.5 hours late. We left Jefferson City at 2:30 instead of 10:30, making our arrival time in Chicago close to 1 am. From Columbia to Chicago, door-to-door, the journey lasted about 17 hours. How come China, India, Russia and Europe have better developed passenger train systems and the U.S. doesn't? Is the cause American individualism? Our highway system? Train track ownership?...

Our stay in Chicago has been lovely. Today we visited theological libraries, ate in regionally famous restaurants and tied up loose ends before our departure tomorrow. Our friends are fabulous hosts.

If you know me, you know I hate to fly. And for very good reason. But when we touch down, all the joutzu soup, squat toilets and crowded hutongs will make the flight worthwhile.

(composed by Jim and Bonnie)