Is This What I Have to Look Forward To?

On Monday I took a different way home from work because I didn’t have to pick up Leland. He stayed home sick. Don’t worry, he’s not really sick. He was just tired and wanted to clean the house.

Anyway, as I was driving home I got stopped by a commuter train. Whenever I don’t have to pick up Leland I always try to race home to beat the train. On Monday I wasn’t fast enough and ending up sitting for a few minutes waiting for the train to unload passengers and leave the station.

As I was sitting there ever so impatiently, I saw an old woman walking up to the tracks. She was OLD. She was wearing a plastic bag tied around her head and big black sunglasses that made her look like a fly. I saw her look back and forth across the tracks several times and started to get nervous.

Are you fucking kidding me, I thought to myself. If you cross those tracks and get hit by the train I will be scarred for life and may never be able to get a good nights sleep again. You better not fucking cross those tracks!

I actually thought about rolling down my window and yelling at her but for some reason I didn’t. Maybe I thought I was overreacting.

I took my eyes off of the old woman and glanced over at the train station. I saw the train lurch forward and start moving. This made me so happy because I was eager to get home. My happiness only lasted for a split second because I saw the old woman approach the tracks. I saw her walk around the gate that had flashing lights all over it and walk onto the tracks.

I immediately started screaming. People in other cars started screaming. People on the street started screaming.

But the old lady seemed to not hear any of it or simply didn’t care.

The train let out a super loud whistle, over and over again.

But the little old lady just kept crossing the tracks. She didn’t seem to be in any big hurry either.

She made it to the other side of the tracks with no more than three feet to spare. It wasn’t until she cleared the tracks that I realized I had been holding my breath.

Really people? Is this what we have to look forward to when we get older? Will I eventually get to a time in my life that I forgot to obey train gates and flashing lights? Will a time come that I cannot even hear the ridiculously loud horn on a train? I am the most impatient person in the world but there is no way in hell I would ever cross the train tracks when the gates are down and the lights are flashing. I have to work like hell to remember that when I am older.

Yes, it was cold outside and I am sure this old woman just wanted to get home, but come on. You made it this far in your life, do you really want to die by getting smashed by a train?

Probably not.