train talk

"I love kids, you know? They're so full of energy, runnin' around and playin' games. You can act more natural with 'em, just hang out. Man, and they make adults more fun too. They pull funniness out of us like a tow truck," he says.

"Like a what?" I ask.

"A tow truck," he says.

"Oh, ha. I see what you mean. They get me all fired up. I work at a camp in the summers, up in New Brunswick, Canada, near where I'm originally from. We're playing outside all day long, canoeking, kayaking, dressing up and singing," I reply to my Oklahoman acquaintance.

"I got a bulldog, a big guy - 125 pounds," he says. "He loves kids, though. He plays around with them all the time. Just like me, we just attract kids. I was sittin' in the train and these two boys came up to me and we were just chattin' and laughin'. My dog, he'll sit around for a week, and then get all riled up to get some exercise. I'll strap on my rollerblades and he'll pull me like crazy. Had a big crash once, aw man that's some funny stuff."

"He pulls you on rollerblades?", I say, chuckling.

"Oh yeah, he loves it. He'll even pick the rollerblades up in his teeth if he wants to go out."

"Wow, man, that's funny."

"Yeah, I love that dog. And you know, I proved them all wrong. They say bull dogs are mean and dangerous? This dog is so nice with kids."

"Real strong, though, if they want to be, eh?", I ask.

"Oh you bet. He's got like 50,000 pounds of force per square inch in those jaws. They could just rip your arm right off if they wanted. Of course he'd never do that though. Yeah I love that dog. When he's gone, I think I'll move on to a Bull Mastiff."

I look unsure.

"You know, like in that movie. . ." [half a minute of silence] . . . "Turner and Hooch! that's the one. Everyone thinks that's a bull dog. . . nope . . . it's a bull mastiff. Yeah i'm gonna move up to one of those. They're strong too, but not as much. 25,000 pounds in their jaws."

"My family has two dogs," I say. "Smaller ones. A beagle who's got a nose of gold and a poodle-mutt -"

"Man, I can't stand the look of poodles," he interjects.

"Yeah, I'm not too big on the shaved/poofy look either," I answer, motioning with my hands the poodle shape. "We don't cut him like that. He gets all fluffy, his hair grows so fast. I like to play tag with those dogs, I run after them outside and I can never catch them."

"Tag, that's a fun one," he says. "You know what's my favorite though?"

"What's that?"

"Flashlight tag. Aw man that's a good game. I love playing that with kids. The lights just flying around like crazy."

"Flashlight tag!" I laugh. "I used to play that every night before bed with my brother when I was young. I haven't played that in years. . ."

This was part of the conversation I had with this friendly, stocky fellow from Oklahoma City. He made me crack up - his genuiness and youthful heart. When I mentioned in my last blog installment that people are friendly on trains, I wasn't lying. Neat conversations with people - various people of mostly middle class backgrounds - pop up pretty easily.

His comment about the tow truck. . .man, I just can't get over that. That conversation really rejunevated me.

I arrived at EcoVersity yesterday afternoon, and things are going well so far. Just setting up, orientation, buying food. I get to live in a yurt while I'm here. More on all that later.

veering toward EcoVersity

I'm heading to EcoVersity, a small permaculture institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to take a program in fundamentals of applied sustainability, called Earth Based Vocations Certificate. The first part of the program is ten weeks, which will take me to early June. Then later this year, probably in the fall, I will do the second part of the program - a self-initiated project for a couple months.

So I'm sure you're asking yourself what is going on here. For instance,

• What is permaculture? My normal northern knowledge noggin knows that it stands for "permanent culture," and is a system of thought for designing healthy, long lasting communities. Click here for more info.
• What is EcoVersity? Click here.
• Earth Based Vocations? Sounds crazy right. Click here.

I'm even taking the train from Philadelphia to Santa Fe, which is a 50 hour affair. But I have my own bedroom the first night so that should be sweet. I like the train. In North America it's quite slow, yes, as opposed to Europe. But it's comfortable, roomy, picturesque (and you see new places because the tracks usually don't follow roads) and friendly. Strange as it may seem, it's also the most energy-efficient means of transportation. So, since I have a day or two to spare, in the train I'll take care.