The other day I had the morning off of work and there was an errand I’d been meaning to run, so I decided that would be a good time to cross it off my list. My garbage bill is basically the only bill I have that I can’t pay online, and for some reason writing a check, putting it in an envelope, addressing and stamping the envelope, and getting it in the mailbox just always feels like something I should do a different day. So, I’d been putting it off, but I wanted to make sure it got done because it was already late. Their office is way across town from where I live, in an area I’m not super familiar with, and I only have to drive there once or twice a year (because I usually do mail it), so I always feel a little bit lost when I have to go. But I figured it would take me 15-20 minutes to drive there, 5 minutes to write the check, and 15-20 minutes to drive home. And when I left my house I had about an hour and a half before I needed to be home to get in the shower so I could get to work by about noon.
So I took off, deciding to try to get there with no app telling me where to go, because I always remember things better later if I try to navigate myself. I had plenty of time, so I figured if I made a wrong turn, it would be no big deal. As I was nearing the street I needed to turn onto, I was trying to keep an eye out for signs. I saw one that always throws me off–the street that the office is on is actually in three different sections, none of which are connected to each other. I needed to turn north on this street to get to the office, but there’s a section of the same street that comes from the south that I come upon first, and it always throws me a little and I think I should turn north there. But if I turn there I end up in a driveway/parking lot. It’s hard to tell when you’re coming up on it, because it’s right after a little curve, though, and it’s fooled me more than once. Again, I’ve only driven there a few times. The part of that street that goes north is actually about a quarter of a mile further east from where the southern section comes out. Anyway, I saw that a train was coming on the tracks that run next to the road I was turning off of just as I saw the sign for the south section of the street and thought, “I don’t remember if this is the right place to turn or not for sure, but I know I’m close”, so I turned in. Within seconds, I knew I’d made a mistake, turned my car around, and went to go back out onto the street, but the train was already almost to the driveway I’d turned into, and I didn’t want to try to race it through the intersection–I’ve seen Back to the Future Part III–I know what happens when a train collides with a car.
I figured it would be no big deal. It looked like a pretty long train, but I had plenty of time. So I stopped, and whipped my phone out quick to video the train as it approached and continued in front of me. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I use an app called “1 Second Everyday”. It’s an app that encourages you to post one second of video for every day, and then at the end of the year you can have the app “mash” all the one second clips into one video, and you can look back at the whole year’s worth of seconds . I’m on my third year of using the app, so I’m always on the lookout for a second I can video to remind me of the significant (and the not so significant) things that happen to me each year. I didn’t think I’d ever gotten any “seconds” of trains, so I decided it would be a fun one to get to remind me how silly I am for neglecting to mail a check. So I got my little video of the train, and turned the radio up so I could hear On Point on NPR over the rumble of the train as it passed. I got my phone out and scrolled a little on Facebook while I waited too, looking up at the train periodically to see how it was coming along. One time I looked up and saw that the train seemed to be slowing down, so I watched as it eased to a stop. It sat there for a few seconds, then started backing up. Again, I wasn’t too worried–I had plenty of time, so I returned to my scrolling. When I looked up again, the train’s backwards motion also slowed and then stopped. So I thought they must have gotten what they needed to do done, and figured they’d be on their way forward again soon. And, while the train did briefly roll forward again, it didn’t roll very far before stopping again. And then it just sat. And sat. …and sat.
I first started to get a little bit irritated when I realized I’d been sitting there for more than ten minutes. I’d budgeted plenty of time for my errand, but I didn’t want to be too rushed getting ready for work. And I hadn’t eaten anything yet that day, because I was planning to eat a little something before I went to work, so I was getting hungry. I backed down the driveway into the little parking lot that was there, and drove around it, looking for a different way out. Sadly, to the east and northeast, there was a creek that ran between where I was and any other outlet. And to the west and northwest, there was a building and then a fence. I figured I was trapped, and drove back south to the end of the driveway to wait it out. I didn’t think I had any other option, and I thought surely the train wouldn’t be there much longer. But it hadn’t moved as I’d been exploring my options, and it continued not moving for what felt like a VERY long time. The Bearded One happened to be off work that day, and I’d been texting him updates. At one point I was starting to get stressed out, because I felt like I was running out of time, and he offered to come pick me up, but I didn’t really know how to explain to him where I was, exactly, or how to get to a place where I could even be picked up. So I just waited. And waited. Thirty eight minutes (yes, THIRTY EIGHT MINUTES) after I’d first texted The Bearded One about the train, I posted on Facebook, asking if anyone knew how to get in contact with a train conductor (is that what they’re called?), and relayed my little story.
Shortly after I posted to Facebook, I backed down the driveway again, because it had been forty minutes, and the train still showed no signs of moving. Again, I knew there was no way for me to leave to the east or northeast because of the creek. And I couldn’t go straight north because there was a building. But I went to look closer at the fence to the northwest. I’d noticed that there was a gate in that fence, and it looked like it might be wide enough for my car to fit through. So, I drove over to the gate and got out of my car to investigate. Luckily, the gate wasn’t locked, so I opened it as far as I could, which happened to be just barely wide enough for my car pass through. Once on the other side, I got out and shut the gate, then hopped back in my car, drove over a grassy area and a sidewalk, and into a trailer park. I found my way out of the trailer park and turned my navigation app on–I didn’t have any more time for wrong turns! I made my way to the office, paid my bill, and hightailed it out of there because, as I had just discovered, the train had stopped just before the street that the office was actually on. And, as turned onto that street and saw a “NO OUTLET” sign, I had a sudden fear that the train was going to move while I was in the office and trap me all over again. But I made it out of there, and headed for home, where I had just enough time to get ready and get to work on time.
I don’t know why things like this happen to me, but sometimes I’m grateful that they do. I think I’m a storyteller at heart, so I enjoy having ridiculous little things to tell others about, even if I don’t especially enjoy them while they’re happening. I also like to try to find lessons in everything. And when I was finally able to relax after work and think back to my experience with the train, I realized that there were some great lessons I could take from it:
- Other people’s decisions can affect your life.
After I got out of that parking lot, I looked at the responses I’d gotten on my Facebook post and learned from a friend that, according to Iowa Code, trains aren’t supposed to block intersections for more than ten minutes with a few exceptions. To my knowledge, none of those exceptions applied in this situation. I guess I could be wrong, but even if one of those exceptions did apply, it doesn’t seem like they should be allowed to block intersections for an hour or more unless there’s been a major accident or something. I also learned that there’s a website where you can report when trains block intersections for excessive amounts of time. Anyway, I don’t know what the deal was with that train, but someone made a decision that, had I not been able to find a way out of there on my own, would have contributed to me being late to work. Yes, I took a wrong turn, and that’s on me, but because someone else decided that the train could just sit there for so long, I was significantly delayed. - Every tiny decision you make can have consequences too.
If I had used my Maps app instead of trying to find my own way to that office, I wouldn’t have taken a wrong turn and gotten stuck there. Or if I’d left my house even just a minute or two sooner, I would have had plenty of time to take the wrong turn and get out of there before the train came. Or if I’d just mailed the check, I wouldn’t have had to drive there in the first place. To look on the dark side, if I’d tried to race the train through the intersection, I could have lost and potentially ended up majorly injured (or worse). Most of the time, the consequences of our decisions have little to no noticeable effect on the course of our lives, but they have the potential to make a major impact. I learned this lesson a long time ago, but it’s always good to have a reminder. - There’s almost always a way out of whatever situation you get into.
Whether it’s a job you hate, a relationship you’re unhappy in, a debt you incurred, a few extra pounds you gained, a pair of pants you bought when you were feeling adventurous, or a train that’s blocking your way, you usually have options of how to respond. You can stay in the circumstances you’ve found yourself in, of course, and just hope that it’ll all work out. But if you’re in a situation that makes you unhappy, you almost always have the power to make some kind of a change. Look for a new job, try to make amends but realize that you’ll be fine if you’re single, start a side business to make extra money, start moving more and eating less, take the ridiculous pants back, look for an unlocked gate that you might be able to squeeze through. Even if you don’t see a way out at first, keep looking. Wrong turns can sometimes lead to new opportunities to be creative or stretch yourself. And, at the very least, they can usually give you a good story to tell.
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