You can't always get what you want

After a long and hectic day, I finally made the train. You may recall that I decided to take the train from Reno to Denver, rather than fly, because I wanted to some time to rest and relax. Each time I have taken the train before, it has always been very relaxing with pleasant travelers to converse with and time to read. I had bought a novel (which I rarely do) for just this occasion.

The train arrived into Reno on time. I was directed by the train attendant to a coach class car along with 5 other people. They all seemed in a hurry to get on the train, so I let them go first. After all, there has always been plenty of room and this time seemed no different. To my shock, however, there was only one seat left in the car and no place left for my carry-ons either above my seat or in front of my seat since my seatmate’s belongs were strewn out in front. In addition, my seat was really only about half of a seat since my sleeping seatmate occupied not only his seat but the other half of mine. Behind my seat, was a little boy with a soccer ball which he was happily bouncing against what would be my seat back. Next to him was a little baby girl crying with all of her might.

The attendant came by and told me to take my seat. I indicated that there was no space for either me or my carry-ons. She firmly told me to take my seat. So, I kindly asked my seatmate to please move over and to move his belongings. I received no response. I squeezed into my seat, then nudged him and asked him one again. He muttered something, moved slightly and went back to sleep. Now that I had at least a little more room, I began to move his belongings back to his side of the seat. About this time, I felt a hand slide under my right thigh. Since I was moving my carry-ons, I knew it wasn’t my hand. I asked my seatmate to please remove his hand. Nothing. I grabbed his hand and moved it back on him. He rolled over and responded with a series of explicatives about my gender, etc. I then caught a “wiff” and realized that he was mean drunk. I began to ponder if I had time to jump off the train and get my money back. Just about that same time, the train pulled out of the station, the hand returned under my thigh, the little boy continued bouncing his ball and the baby’s cry increased in volume. My restful train trip was becoming a trainwreck!

About this time the attendant passed by. I stopped her , explained the situation, and asked to be re-seated. She replied, “Well, honey, this train is full of drunks. Every coach seat on this train is taken. Unless he is killin’ ya, you just have ta’ deal with it. But if you can’t you can sleep all night in the club car.”

I got a brilliant idea, and wondered if there might be just one roomette left that I could buy at the last minute. I remember when my husband and daughter rode the train, they were able to secure a room at the last minute for a great price. I knew that this was my only hope for redeem my restful train trip. Otherwise, it would be the club car!

As I searched the train for the conductor, I understood what the attendant has told me. This train was totally packed! Every seat was taken. I finally found the conductor in one of the sleeping cars talking with two other attendants. I explained my situation and asked if there was a room left that I could purchase. He explained to me, again, that the train was full, that there might not be any rooms left, and that if there were any rooms left, they would be expensive, but that he would check for me. We agreed to meet in the club car in an hour.

I arrived at the club car at the appointed time and found the conductor in conversation with a young man complaining about his seatmate. There were also a line of people waiting to speak with him. He finished his conversation, then motioned me over to sit at his table. To the objections of the other people waiting in line, he explained that he had found a room for me – the only one left on the train. It was a family room – meant to sleep four people. We negotiated the price and I bought it on the spot. After he dealt with the other people in line, he helped me move my carry-ons and showed me the room. It was the very last room in the very last car of the train. Best of all, it had a long sofa which made into a bed and two windows on each side of the train. And as he was leaving, he reminded me that all of my meals were included in the price of the room and that room passengers had preference on meal reservation times. So, for the price of what a last minute airfare would have cost, I was finally able to have my restful, peaceful, relaxing train trip in spite of the fact that the train was packed.

After getting my carry-ons put away, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures out the window before being called to dinner. After a nice dinner with a wonderful couple traveling to Chicago, I retired to my room with a glass of wine and my novel. And without internet, I knew that I could not upload my photos until later.

So, yes, sometimes we don’t always get what we want. Sometimes we get something better.