"The Station" later, we realize there is no
station,no one place to arrive.
Tucked away in our subconscious The true joy of life is the trip.
is an idyllic vision. We are The station is only a dream. It
travelling by train, out the constantly outdistances us.
windows, we drink in the "Relish the moment" is a good
passing scenes of children motto. It isn't the burdens of
waving at a crossing, cattle today that drive men mad. It is
grazing on a distant hillside, the regrets over yesterday and
row upon row of corn and the fear of tomorrow. Regret
wheat, flatlands and valleys, and fear are twin thieves who
mountains and rolling hillsides rob us of today. Regret is
and city skylines. But reality, after the facts. So
uppermost in our minds is the stop pacing the aisles and
final destination. On a certain counting the miles. Instead,
day, we will pull into the station. climb more mountains, eat more
Bands will be playing and flags ice cream, go barefoot more
waving. Once we get there, our often, swim more rivers, watch
dreams will come true and the more sunsets, laugh more, cry
pieces of our lives will fit less. Life must be lived as we
together like a completed jigsaw go along. The STATION will
puzzle. Restlessly we pace the come soon enough.
aisles, damning the minutes -
waiting, waiting, waiting for the
station. "When we reach the by Robert J. Hastings
station, that will be it!" We
cry. "When I'm 18." "When I
buy a new 450sl Mercedes
Benz!" "When I put the last kid
through college." "When I have
paid off the mortgage!" "When
I get a promotion." "When I
reach retirement, I shall live
happily ever after!" Sooner or
