The Tragic Span of Trains in America, Part Two

Of course there are "reasons" and explanations for why passenger train travel from small towns to cities has for all practical purposes disappeared. The town I grew up in, the town my father grew up in used to have a depot right in the heart of small town Missouri. I remember being in second grade back in the early seventies when Dad rode the train to work in downtown St. Louis. My mom and I would wave at him as we stood on the platform seeing the big Missouri Pacific passenger train whisk Dad off to work. He loved riding the train. And then it seemed like all of a sudden one day it was all over with. No more Mo-Pac passenger service, then the city decided to tear down the historic depot (like so many other towns across America have done) and AmTrak was not in the business of making dozens of stops in small towns across America. I know how the disappearance of connective passenger trains affected not only my father, but so many hundreds of others in town who no longer had the option of riding the train to the city. People talked about it and they were saddened but they seemed to feel and believe there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. It was just an unchangeable fact that our nation's leaders and corporate executives wanted to fill America with cars, cars, cars, and more cars. Nevermind that some people couldn't afford a car, nevermind the fact that many women had lived well into their sixties and seventies never having a need to learn to drive a car, nevermind the fact that life-altering decisions were made by those whose interest lay more in the wealth they could achieve through the automobile industry than in the overall well-being of the American citizens.

So this is the speech I would like to hear an American political leader make:

Americans, a mistake in our country's great history has been realized. We tried to make a transition from train travel to car travel but looking back through the years, we see the disastrous results.We have to admit our short-sightedness and greed and do the right thing: we must re-build the criss-cross of tracks running with all kinds of trains through the beautiful landscape of our country. How can we consider ourselves a "super-power" of the World when unlike dozens and dozens of other countries trains run every day on a variety of schedules? Countries in Europe,  Asia, India, etc. rely heavily on trains to transport millions of people every day. We have fallen behind. We have spit in the eyes of our own citizens by ripping up tracks, reducing Am-Trak stops and schedules, and forcing people to rely on the automobile for transportation.
It's time to right this wrong. Don't we owe it to the nation's leaders who in the mid to late 1800's envisioned and then constructed a nationwide rail system? Don't we owe it to all the many men who gave their lives for "progress?"

Sure, executives and leaders will argue that the auto industry creates and provides valuable jobs for many Americans. But why not reduce the number of cars and then focus on creating new jobs in a multitude of fields related to a railroad industry? Why does Japan have a fast bullet train but we don't? Why does South Korea have four different types of passenger trains than we have? And their trains always run on time--unlike the sham of the thing we call AmTrak. When's the last time you rode on an AmTrak train? They are a disgrace to our country--filthy, almost always running late, no decent, affordable food on board...just an absolute flaw in America's transportation system. The time has come to admit our failures, correct them, create tons of railroad related jobs, and pardon the pun--get this country back on the right track!

The Tragic Span of Trains in America, part one

The memories I have of girlhood summers are attached to images I remember of train stations and riding Amtrak in 1970's Missouri. Union Station in downtown St. Louis was a ghostown, ecohing the voices and forms of people long past, the hustle and bustle still hanging in the air, the people all dressed up and carrying beautiful suitcases.I loved that building, that place. I'd never been in a building with such high ceilings and marble floors and benches fifty feet long. While my mother and I would wait for the train to Jefferson City to see my Grandma and Grandpa, there always seemed to be enough time for me to wander around and marvel at the awesomeness of that place. I climbed some marble stairs with great dark wooden banisters lining the sides and upon arriving at the top, there it would be: the place I loved to dream about, the old dining room. I'd press my face to the locked door's glass, taking it all in: the red velvet chairs, the crisp white tablecloths, the tall candelabras gracing each table. In times gone by, what jovial conversation must have been tossed about the room! And then I'd hear my mother calling that it was time to board the train. I detached myself from the fantasy and got on the train to look out the window seeing the river and woods the route took. Who knew that passenger trains would become a thing of the past and that Amtrak would be all there is to ride the Great American Rails that are no more.But--that does not mean they have to remain a thing of the past. Something as huge and necessary and connective as the Transcontinental Railroad deserve a second chance, a reprisal that could go a long, long ways in helping and fixing our American Society.

Putting the Cart Before the Horse

"Jobs" and "the economy" are flash words with no deeper meaning being detailed or reflected upon. Talking about getting Americans back to work involves much more than simply "creating jobs." First, the workers, the people, the American citizens--the human beings--need comprehensive attention in several ways. So what are some rarely if ever talked about causes concerning Americans' ability and readiness to go to work? Depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, poor literary skills, ill health including dental problems--even toothlessness-- hopelessness, feelings of worthlessness, and the very real feeling that too many Americans have that they'll never live more than paycheck to paycheck despite how very much they would like to. An honest discussion about getting people back to work must also include a comprehensive educational vision. No one can dispute the well known facts that American students fall well below international standards in science and math. While these truths are important, what about the fact that many students of American high schools graduate with minimal reading and writing skills? A reminder of this is proven by the fact that colleges across America have seen the need to institute remedial or "developmental" English, reading, and math courses to address the reality that a high percentage of incoming students cannot read or write at a college level. In fact, many who graduate with a high school diploma are functionally illiterate. The "big issues" which dominate media and political attention dwarf many of the fundamental necessities which must be addressed before "jobs and the economy" can hold meaning or hope. Continuing to ignore some of the underlying reasons why "jobs and the economy" have overtaken the platforms of current U.S. political parties is akin to putting the cart before the horse.

the untalked about issues

This fall of 2012 I will turn fifty years old and I decided it's time to stop thinking and talking and try to make a positive impact on people.For twenty five years I have imagined and dreamed of running for President of the United States--not because I have a chance of winning but to be a spokesperson and a voice for the millions of Americans whose issues and concerns go unnoticed or uncared about by the people who run this country. In this current Presidential 2012 race, I have been flabbergasted  and disappointed at the constant emphasis on "jobs and the economy." Of course it is important that people have jobs so they can earn wages to support themselves and/or their family. But digging a little deeper, I believe there are a multitude of issues and problems and concerns which must be addressed BEFORE people can simply apply for new jobs and then go to work.
That is what this blog is about. I plan to post an entry each day which details my own perceptions from having lived in many foreign countries, my experiences as a college English instructor--both full time and as an adjunct, my struggles as a divorced single parent, my experiences with abortion, alcohol and as a bi-polar citizen of the United States. Too many voices remain silent not because the people do not care, but because they simply cannot find the words to express themselves and to articulate what they want, need, and believe about the country they call home--the United States.
Whatever happened to the old idea that senators, representatives and the President were to speak for their constituents concerns? As I have observed, elected officials usually champion what they themselves believe in--not the people who elected them to office. So, I have appointed myself the voice of the unheard, the disabled, the outcast, the homeless, the unemployed, the uninsured, the hopeless and the destitute