Before walking up the old railway bridge I turned around and took this picture. It was the sunset time; the sky was yellow, and a tiny orange cloud sitting at the skyline looked like a puff of smoke left by a distant steam engine rolling at full speed into nowhere.
There is no train, the bridge is abandoned. Too late, the last train is gone.
I used to know a woman who acted like she was fifty even when she was twenty. Never changed. Never married. When I was overwhelmed with caring for my young daughter, studying and doing several jobs she would say : The one who lives slowly lives long.
Another woman, my mother’s colleague, never got married and never had any friends because she had a heart problem. She would do her gardening, sit on her porch and take long and slow walks. She would wind up an old gramophone and put it outside – I loved it! She is in her 80s now, still doing pretty much the same things.
I wonder, did they miss their train?
Growing older, I often feel like I am standing in the platform and watching the others board the train and leave. I cannot catch up. My ticket has expired, and my luggage is all over the place. Isn’t it a time to start living slowly?
I did miss many important trains. I could have done more for my Grandma. Being fed and comfortable is not enough. I could have taken her for a fun train trip to a big city she was always asking about (What is there in fashion now? Does everybody wear the shoes like yours?)
And now there is only a puff of smoke left at the skyline.
Mable Hillery, How long this train been gone
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Have a happy day!
Making memories 
Inese – Amazing food for thought and I love the photo of the train tracks at sunset with the water for ‘reflection.’ I once had a favorite greeting card that read, “When my train arrives, I’ll be at the airport.” I’ve felt that way a few times over the years when I couldn’t seem to get things to come together. Especially when life is ever so hectic. When we become over melodramatic, my best friend and I tell each other we’ve been at the station to long. That’s our way of gently telling the other that we’ve been on the same track for too long and it’s time to move on.
Sheri – I am so glad that the post has a personal touch for you! The invention of the railway did so much for humanity 🙂 It is so wonderful that you have a friend with whom you have developed some sort of a special language – it shows how close is this friendship.
Inese
I won’t try to repeat what everyone else has said, although I agree, but I do want to add my thanks for including that version of “How Long This Train Been Gone.”
Thank you Ellen! I love that song.
Amazing post, exquisite photo. Poignant reflections. I’m glad to know you that much better, Inese. Someone once told me there is a saying in Korean than you can live short and thick or long and thin(ner). His uncle was a mean, selfish man who commited suicide in his 40s. Short and thick. I think our contentment is a great measure of how well we have lived although it is always good to step back, assess, and even change tracks as needed.
Thank you for you comment! It is so true about stepping back and assessing because even if it seems too late, we still can change the tracks and keep going. Thank you again, this comment means a lot.