On the train to NYC
I’m on the express train from Boston to New York City to go meet a customer in the city.
For my 5th birthday my father took me on a very similar trip for one day in the city by express train.
Like this train, that one was supposed to be very fast.
But, there was some sort of accident on the rails half a century ago that got us into NYC 4 hours later than expected.
My father still brought me around the city.
We went to the Empire State Building and looked out over the top of the clouds to where they were building the World Trade Center buildings.
We went to the “World’s Biggest Electric Train Store” that might have been biggest by inventory, but not by physical space.
We at lunch at an automat.
My father, who loved trains, had enough of them going down, so opted to fly back to Boston.
At the time you just got on the plane and paid in flight.
Even when I was 5 I thought that bad planning on their part.
Just about 20 years later I was out of work and applied for a job in NYC. The CEO told me he’d interview me, but I had to get there on my own.
I took a train down as it was the cheapest option.
The interview went badly as all he cared about was why I wanted to live in NYC.
“It’s where this job would be,” was not considered a good enough answer.
He didn’t go over my technical skills or experience at all.
“If you don’t really want to live in the city, then this job is not for you!” He told me and kicked me out.
Much like the trip 20 years before, my father told me if I want to fly home he’d pay for the ticket. So, I took that much faster option. This time they made me pay before I got on the plane.
I didn’t get the job. My parents didn’t pay for the plane ticket, and I keep thinking about those trips as we roll through Connecticut.
Hopefully my boss choosing to sit a car away from me and my coworker is not a bad sign about how mad at me he is.
We’ll see.