I was waken last night from sleep. I sleep very light and many things will wake me. But last night I was glad to be woken..
I went into the kitchen and got a drink of water and while I was pouring that water, I opened the window and I heard the train whistle in the distance singing her song as she traipsed into the night. Then while the lonesome whistle blew, the Orthodox Church down the road joined in the chorus and rang her bells in tune to the Whistle…
I sat at the kitchen table listened to the train whistle get fainter and fainter. The church bells rang their last ding. I drank that wonderful cold water and thought how lucky I am to have cold water to drink…
I have listened to trains blow their whistles in many countries. They always sound the same and in reality a train is a common denominator that is stable all over the world.
Whether in Africa, America, Mexico, Russia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Vietnam, Ukraine, Moldova and or one of the many other places I have been. The train whistle has always made me stop and think about how lucky I am. It just is the sound, far off in the distance that calls to me and touches my soul…
The song of the bells at the Orthodox Church made it extra special and gave me that memory that makes it so Russian…
If you have never heard the train whistle deep into the night, then you have missed out on part of what makes life interesting. The whistle of a train is a special sound and is part of the blues in America…
I travel by train a lot in Russia because it is the fast and cheapest way to transverse this humongous country. I love the train and am glad that Russian trains talk like all the other trains in the world.
It just makes the world seem a lot smaller when I hear a train whistle…
WtR