I have been up since about four. I can Feel the tiredness seep back into my brain, as I watch the street and rail scene in Ashland on Virtual Railfan LLC on YouTube.

I waited and watched til #98, the Northbound Silver Meteor sped by on its way to New York from Miami. It is a lumbering beast of a train with sleeper cars and a dining car. It usually runs late, anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

A little pain woke me up, but not too painful. I wake up and immediately feel vulnerable, so I put my jeans on. I make coffee, sit and watch the trains, or an infomercial about the air brush makeup applicator. I like to watch the women smile as this little paint sprayer magically transforms their faces. Faintly absurd.

I haven’t seen the master of the infomercial, Ron Popeil, in a long time. I wonder what happened to him. Imagine someone, unbelievably rich, who sits at home all day and orders every item sold through the infomercial genre. Absurd? Yes.

I hear another train horn.As yet, I don’t know if it’s a CSX freight or an Amtrak passenger train. It has yet to pass through town. Here it comes. It is #53 Amtrak’s Northbound Autotrain, running nonstop between Sanford, Florida and Lorton, VA. Quite the sight it is.

OK. Back to bed.