Dips Big Amtrak Adventure

Hello SAV (ages),

Your old (fer reals gettin old) buddy JakeAl aka dip dibbler here.

I've thought since the beginning a "Forum' format would be more functional than others. Haven't been around for some time as I took offense to some Native stereotypes posted on here a while back. I don't expect ya'all to get that since it's the prerogative and programming of the majority of the dominant colonial society to interpret and demean the indigenous for entertainment and as an irrelevant and whimsical subject.(Not to mention occupying our lands) There have been conflicts about sexual orientation and body shaming here but I basically stood alone on native issues with a deafening silence anytime I brought up the topic. The HCR episodes were somewhat a confusing seachange for me as well. IMO, Helpful well-intentioned people with a sizeable dump of data to slog through or be confused by. "How to win friends and influence others" could facetiously be the tone of this post. Ha ha.

I'm on a train going through the Rockies at this moment to arrive home after nearly a 2-week journey. I'm passing time on my phone as I haven't had consistent or any cell service. The trip has been a personal test/quest to see if the old guy still has it. Overall the answer is no. It's been a grueling, sometimes miserable journey with some memorable episodes and a degree of financial hemorrhaging. I've noted Faucci has pontificated the pandemic phase of Covid has ended(fingers crossed). Airports, airplanes, and railways are a mixed bag of masks and no masks. Still, the anti-vaxxers, right-wing, and new age loonies abound. Jerks wearing the equivalent of "Heil Dumpster" T-shirts, are about here and there. I'd rather not know if a person in a RWNJ. I made part of this journey with my ½ sibling. I won't undertake that again. I believe he's representative of the right. Bigoted, ignorant, arrogant domineering, anti-vax/mask, anti-science, bible by his bed, is misinformed and promotes such in a loud and ignorantly loud grandiose manner on a number of topics. His sons are lesser so but the toxic masculinity thing manifested in one of them as he and a friend attacked a west coast homeless camp after a theft. That attack led to the death of the homeless man. It appears nephew will face slammer time though he wasn't the trigger man. He (nephew) told my son a bit of the story while on a phone call while he guzzled beer and puffed out clouds of what appeared to be marijuana smoke. Overall a likable sort with a flip side apparently lesser so. Some refer to this country as a "great democratic experiment". I see it definitely as something else. This country is a continuing exercise in imperialism by an aggressive, racist genocidal group(s) of religious zealots, corporate monsters, and foreign entities who will exploit any and all resources to the point of unsustainability. I guess that's old news, isn't it? What you call immigration is the continuance of colonization.

Dramatic News Flash:

A Freight train derailed up the line. Supposedly 11 cars on fire and hard to access. Delayed now a minimum of 2 hrs. Oh dayum…now rumors of canceling until tomorrow. I guess that's about enough rambling from me. I been wearing my mask most of the trip up till today. Oh, I got my 2nd booster about a week before I left on my version of Pee Wee's Big Adventure. I was switched from Moderna to phizer(sp?) for the last dose. I did have some odd reactions but I'm not sure if it's psychological or physiological. Lots of stress going on as I'm trying to relocate from rural prairie hell. FINAL UPDATE: Good ole Amtrak had us sidelined for 8 hours. During that period our traveling fate changed numerous times. It was obvious Amtrak didn't specifically have a plan. Finally, we learned the train was being turned around and went back to the original place of each passenger. It was fubar and snafu 100%. We were told to call and make reservations to again restart our journey the next day. When people tried this they were informed no trains were available for 3 or more days. This meant waiting around somewhere or paying for hotels in the interim. Several people were missing flights and appointments due to the situation. One woman was going to miss a funeral. My meds were nearly depleted and I had an important Dr. appointment the next day. It was obvious we couldn't depend on Amtrak. My son borrowed a car and drove 5+ hrs to get me. i had to sit around like a hobo at a truck stop until my ride arrived. About 2 weeks previous, I had booked a train to start this trip which was canceled at the last minute. I had to board a plane costing $500+ in order to meet my obligations in Seattle. Amtrak and fate managed to screw me in both directions.

I wore my mask most of the time and did not spread or get infected by covid. My situation wasn't the end of the world but it certainly wasn't pleasant or convenient. I was surprised that when I ranted and raved to Amtrak, I was given a refund. Don't know all the changes, if any, that are here. I just dropped by to unload my recent experience and frustration here.

Dip