tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post7252547690002235302..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Wizards Take the TrainKen Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-84055567748149597022018-02-12T02:33:07.851+00:002018-02-12T02:33:07.851+00:00I was sixteen the first time I took a train. And I...I was sixteen the first time I took a train. And I loved it. Although my dad had a car when not everyone’s dad did and I appreciated the convenience of the car I was never passionate about them. I’m still not. When I bought my very first car and someone at work learned I had they asked me what kind it was. “A red one,” was my response and I wasn’t being facetious; I’d forgotten the make because it didn’t matter to me. As it happens it was a Talbot Samba and I can’t pretend I didn’t get a kick out of owning my own vehicle but, and I feel much the same when it comes to computers, it was a tool, nothing more.<br /><br />A few months ago I went to visit my daughter who’s living in Cumbernauld for the moment. It’s a bit of a hick whatever way you go and so I thought I’d try getting the train home rather than the bus. They’ve changed. They’ve lost a lot of their elegance—trains were always classy when I was a kid—but not their magic. And by “magic” I think I mean nostalgia. As a child we often played in the local railway yard. Carriages, trucks and guard vans especially which were like peripatetic gang huts. They were never locked or anything. Nor was there any noticeable security—never once were we chased away. The trains nowadays feel are smart and clean and, since I never travel at peak times, I always get a seat but even though they’re a far cry what they used to be they still evoke a feeling of wellbeing and calm I don’t get with buses and cars.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com