Laying Down the Tracks

Signora, between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps called the Semmering. It is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains. They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice. They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip. They built it because they knew some day, the train would come.

- Under the Tuscan Sun

The truth is I had a GREAT weekend.  I was out of the area, out of my head and enjoying life, the moment, the stories and my loved ones.  I spent the weekend in West Virginia doing a few different things.  I spent time with my Pop-pop and with my mom.  I did alot of driving, alot of listening, just a little talking, a little reading, some eating, some visiting with my beloved, some Greek food (no, not in West Virginia), and some book browsing at a used bookstore. 

I also did alot of thinking.  Strangely, the real thinking came as I watched a woman on stage, playing her harp beautifully.  This wouldn't normally be my sort of thing but she did get my brain flowing close to "right".  I read her bio on the program and  I listened to her speak between songs.  Some about her, some about the songs and other random facts like how way back when - in Scotland - your debtors could take almost everything from you but if you played the harp... they couldn't take your tuner.  This was prohibited legally because if you couldn't tune your harp you couldn't make any money to pay your debtors back.

I got out some paper while I listened and started to jot down ideas of what I would ask her if I could interview her.  What I would ask anyone who had been willing to just simply follow their passion as she dutifully did.  She started out in Cleveland, Ohio, after all and most people run from West Virginia... they don't usually migrate there.  And then I had an idea.  I won't be sharing this idea but needless to say, it's part of something I have been searching for over the last however many years I began searching ideas of what I could write about.  I've never wanted to be straight fiction or non-fiction but a bit of both.  I found myself not really day dreaming but critically thinking about how I could make this idea happen.  I'm still thinking...

But - there is a big part of me that simply needs to start preparing and start waiting for my train to come.  I need to be patient.  (Don't most of hate the "p" word.)  I need to lay down the tracks but I also need to expect that one day, in some way, as long as the groundwork is there... my train will come.  It may feel four hours late but I'll be waiting on the platform with my bags packed, ready to wave my old life goodbye.