well, they did build that sucker back in 1899 so maybe it is time to replace it, but I will miss it.
The photo is one I took a few years ago from a favorite spot on the North bank where I would go and read on Sunday mornings. The bridge is the last one for boaters before the lake. It is an old swing-gate that would take quite a bit of time to open, making the boats rather stack up on the river. I haven't been down to see the new bridge construction. I guess it will be a draw bridge and be able to open quicker.
Oh, Well.....
I'm being followed by a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
Leaping and hopping on a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
And if I ever lost my hands
Lose my plough, lose my land
Oh, if I ever lose my hands- Oh, if...
I wont have to work no more
I used to wonder what was in the railroad cars.... lumber, chemicals, manufactured goods... but then it was no never mind and I knew that there was no knowing what was in those cars. So I didn't think about it anymore.
I did hear that the R Rep from Missouri, Todd Akin, says that women cannot get pregnant from "legitimate rape" which makes me think he is sponsoring a bill so that you can get a 'Rape Permit"... kinda like, ya know, a concealed gun permit. Boy oh, boy..... I guess he never stopped to think of what is in those train cars.
And if I ever lose my eyes
If my colours all run dry
And if I ever lose my eyes - Oh,
I won't have to cry no more
I really don;t know where the train is going. If it is going south, I would guess Fond du Lac or Milwaukee or on to Chicago. North....well, Green Bay and after that there is only the Upper Peninsula unless it jogs west and heads to Duluth. Probably once the train hauled a lot of people who would peak out the windows as the train traveled along the lake shore and through the city, but there are no folks on that train anymore.... just boxs, some empty, some full.
And if I ever lose my legs
I won't moan and I won't beg
Oh if I ever lose my legs- Oh if...
I won't have to walk no more
And if I ever lose my mouth
All my teeth, north and south
Yes, if I ever lose my mouth- Oh if...
I won't have to talk...
I guess it's really not about the train, though, but the bridges. See, you want to get from here to there and maybe it is a river or a lake or a valley and you really need a bridge. Sometimes you just want to move your heart and soul to a different place and going around the long way just won't cut it. Sometimes there are fences in the way.... and you just can't get there from here... or from here to there.
Anyways.... Todd Akin also said "Anybody who knows something about the history of the human race knows that there is no civilization which has condoned homosexual marriage widely and openly that has long survived." So what is very apparent is that someone running for the Senate of the United States engages his mouth before thinking. If he thinks at all. What is more distressing is the the individual who is running for vice President of the United States espouses essentially the the same views. He opposes all abortion, for any reasons. Has voted consistently to deny Gay citizens basic rights everyone else has. He also sees Medicare and other social programs designed to aid our senior citizens as basically.... a waste of money. Now Ryan flips faster than a two dollar pancake at a road side cafe but he has consistently voiced views parallel to Akin's; quoted in the Washington Post, speaking of Akin....
“a great asset” on Ryan’s budget committee and an example of “exactly the kind of leadership America needs.” ....... yessirre Bob ..... with an asset like that.... who needs foot fungus?
Did it take long to find me
I ask the faithful light
Did it take long to find me
And are you going to stay the night
I'm being followed by a moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
Moon shadow moon shadow
....and I just wonder where my bridge is..... and sometimes..... if those railroad cars are half full.... or mostly empty
8 comments:
I've thought about that too, what's in those darn things. Usually while waiting for them to get out of my way so I could speed along. I like train whistles though. I find them mournful, which probably has something to do with the hobos who inhabit them--or at least I assume they still do, but probably they don't any more. Anyway, you sure lit up my synapses with this one. And Akins? He's simply a person of limited intelligence which is apparently what passes for Teabagger smarts these days. Amen.
I clearly remember seeing Ryan on some video give a speech pretty much saying he lusted after Ayn Rand and her principles. That pretty much makes him inhuman to me.
If the railroad cars are full of politicians then you can bet they are full of half wits. They wanna take us on the road to nowhere.
Lots of wonderful lore and romance surrounds the railroads. They're a much bigger and more-important part of our history and culture than most people realize today.
There's a fine example of it in The City of New Orleans by the guy who wrote it, Steve Goodman. And a rousing version by Arlo Guthrie with Pete Seeger and others, at Wolftrap.
I burned a bridge once only to remember I'd left something I loved on the other side. One needs to be careful in considering the consequences of hasty words or actions. Maybe someone should mention this to the Republicans.
I adore you Jim. ;-)
Nice soliloquy Jim. Thanks for letting us eaves drop.
I rode that train from UP on the Tundra to Milwaukee and back several times back when they had passenger service. In '95 we had to straddle the grey dog to Milwaukee to catch the train to go to Colorado. The train ride was enjoyable, the bus not so much.
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