The Train is Southbound

“You should take the Caltrain back.”  Sitting in an office in Santa Clara I pause and consider this suggestion.  My host looks at his phone and confirms:  The Sunnyvale station is only eight minutes from here.  “Is that right?”  I have taken the train before.  Yeah.  That will be cheaper and faster and it all suddenly makes perfect sense. 

My driver has me over at the Sunnyvale Caltrain station in no time.  Hurrying lest I miss some train that is just pulling in I skip up to the machine and enter my credit card credentials.  Sunnyvale is inside Zone Three.  My destination is Zone One.  It’s only eight bucks. 

“San Francisco is thata-way?”  I confirm it’s across the tracks and head over past the gate and the dormant lights of the crossing alarm.  There a sign with train information down beyond my eyesight.  Closer it looks like they’re announcing two trains for later this evening.  They flash off and they flash back on.  There is no other information.  There will be no other trains.  The first one is fifty minutes out.  I thought they ran every twenty minutes.  I think about that for a moment.  I would wait that time in Grand Central.  But it doesn’t seem right to do it here, alone in the sun.

Reluctantly, I walk back to the crossing area and fiddle with the Uber app.  An announcement confirms that a train is approaching.  I look up hopefully but I can hear now that the train is southbound, to San Jose.  The lights clang and the gates drop and I need to wait and watch as all the passengers disembark.   Before my Uber arrives another train heading north barrels in and I stare in amazement from the wrong side of the tracks.  But this train doesn’t stop.  It just kept on going. 

Friday, 11/02/18