I probably waited a lot longer than most people would. The Bible says to wait on the Lord. That, I think I did. Welcome to the next daily installment of this true story, which you can find posted here each afternoon until it comes to an end.
Chapter 73: Getting The Ticket Back
It’s Sunday, November 26, 2023. I am at Union Station in Chicago. There’s a little snow out there. The California Zephyr is scheduled to leave in about twenty minutes, headed back toward San Francisco.
I am pretty sure I am supposed to be on it.
But it’s not totally clear to me and I don't want to take that leap without it being totally clear to me.
Maybe I’ll end up spending the night in a hotel downtown. Maybe I’m getting on a different train. Truth be told, if I believe I am being called to do it, I’ll do just about anything that doesn’t contradict God’s word. So here I am at Union Station, waiting for clear direction on how to proceed forward.
I’m pretty sure until that comes, I am just supposed to be sitting tight right now, so I do.
I get the all-clear and about ten minutes before the train is scheduled to pull out, I buy that ticket and make my way for the train.
At 1:59 p.m., a minute early, I watch from inside the train as it pulls out of the station. I tell you, those Amtrak conductors have no love for folks who show up late for a train. A minute early we pulled out. How about that.
I bet it’s a non-zero number of people who ran for that train and watched it pull out at 1:59 p.m. Plenty of Amtrak conductors will bend over backward to accommodate a passenger, but they will not suffer the fool who is unable to show up early for a train.
From what I could tell, that conductor went out of his way to leave a minute early. That is how much some conductors so show the displeasure for the latecomer.
-Allan Stevo
This is a selection from my forthcoming book, “The Amtrak Vignettes.” A neat story began with the writing of “The Amtrak Vignettes” in October 2023. Every day until that story comes to an end, I intend to share a part of it here. It is a part of my faith journey as a Christian, a faith journey that has been deepened since the Ides of March 2020. Some of it gets pretty wild and nothing that a “reasonable” person would find himself in the midst of. Few will be scared off by it. Instead, many will grow deeper in their faith. I know that, because I know my readers well, and I know that few come here expecting me to give a milquetoast version of anything. Come here to be challenged. Stay here to have your life changed. That, I believe, is what will come of this work. You can support that work by signing up below.
There’s a lot to be said for both waiting on the Lord and also being punctual!