Eventually I hope to get back out to San Diego to see my sister, but it has taken me 2 years to work my way to Texas from New York City. Honestly, I kind of like the slow pace. I like the eddies along the way I get stuck in. I’ve been to stations that have trains stop every 5 minutes, and stations that have trains stop once a day. I like the families and friends I’ve made along the way at transit stops. It definitely isn’t the life for everyone, but I have grown accustomed to it, and I am unsure how long I will actually stay once I get to San Diego. I have a cousin in Seattle who keeps telling me about their collective up there, so maybe I’ll end up there. Who knows. Sometimes I just think I will nod out along the way on a line I can’t remember and never wake up, until the end of the line and someone tries to wake me up.
I know most t-bones like their roller bags, but I hate them. I have just an old army rucksack with a blanket on top. I’ve slept on trains so long I can’t sleep lying down on solid ground anymore. I like sitting up leaning against the window, feeling the vibrations. Better yet, leaning against someone, translating the vibrations for me. I am traveling alone now, but it hasn’t always been like that. I’ve had a couple girls along the way, and occasionally find partners in crime who help me make my way through to the next burrow, neighborhood, or town. My last girl made it to her destination where she had family. She told me I could stay, but I could see in the eyes of her family, that wasn’t true.
You can always find work at almost any transit stop. You can always find street food vendors too, unless it is one of those gated residential zones where you will just need to get your head cracked by private security. I always like talking to influencers like who you will pay me in gear for my story. I can usually barter gear for street food, and I always, always, always sleep in the transit car. Some people go out in the world to secure a real bed, but not me. I need the rhythm of the tracks and will even ride a line in the opposite direction I am heading to get some rest. You learn the rhythm of the lines and where you’ll encounter rush hour, and where you won’t. I like a good rush hour transit party as much as the next of them, but I also love the views of rural and residential lines that don’t stop for hours and have only one or two people on them.
I can get pretty hungry when stuck on a line I can’t find work, or I get stuck in a remote station for too long, but most stations have people who will feed you for free, but it is something like beans & rice, spaghetti, or some other simple grub. I don’t complain. When I have money I like the street vendors around the denser urban areas, as they have the most diverse foods you will ever encounter. The midwest is pretty boring food wise, but I do miss Chicago, Philly, and New York for the real food. Pretty much any station will have street vendors and other restaurants around them, as all living is done within 20-30 minutes of any existing station. Some people live out further and rely on bicycles and other modes of transportation, but the real density is already in a circle around the transit station, as this is where all the real business and entertainment is happening.
Individualized transportation just wasn’t scalable and sustainable. Socialized transportation is now ubiquitous. All I am doing, and other people like me, is socializing our way of living alongside transportation. I am using transit to move through the world, but also move through my life. They are one and the same. Making my way from Tulsa to Albuquerque is the same as making my way into my 43rd year on this planet. My days are aligned with the heartbeat of transit across the midwest and southwest. Whether I make it to Albuquerque by next fall, or the following spring will depend on what work is available, and which transit lines present themselves to me. Some of it is up to me, but some of it is up to the transit systems, the people who operate them, and the people who bring each transit stop to life with food, shops, and entertainment.
