Back on the Rails and Trails of Life

Well another week has gone by and I figured that I'd check in and let everyone know that as I was alive and well in the great state of Montana.  

I'm out of class and back on the rails again learning with every trip that I take. I spent the better part of the week going back-and-forth from Glasgow to Minot.  On the final trip that I took of the week I spent the early hours of the morning dog catching trains that we're headed back to Glasgow.  I'm not sure if I defined dog catching in an earlier post but it essentially means that the crew goes out and meet the train to relieve the crew on board of their duty so that they don't exceed their federally mandated service time of 12 hours.  So what that looks like in a not shell is that I am part of the crew that will take a van out to meet the train wherever they are stopped at and we will switch crews out and take the train back to our home terminal and the relieved crew will take the van back to the depot to clock off.  I ended up dog catching two trains that day and was off of work by 10 in the morning.  It's definitely great to have the entire day and be off from work that early but the flipside to that coin is that I didn't receive my call to work until midnight to go on duty at 1:45 in the morning.  So the hardest thing that I would have to say with having to work on call is that I knew that I was rested at eight in the morning the previous day and had to be ready to go on a moments notice throughout the day so I ran some errands and took a mid afternoon nap knowing that I still need to be rested and after waiting for 16 hours I got that call and was ready to go.  The only hard thing I guess is not having my family around to be able to share my time with while I am waiting for that call.  I have been pushing myself to stay productive with my downtime by taking many trips out to Fort Peck and going on bike rides or trying out several different spots and casting my flyrod out.  I haven't had any success as of yet, I hear from a lot of people that it's primarily a spinning rod area and most people out here catch walleyes and not too many people go flyfishing unless they are in western Montana.  I got my trailer moved into a different spot and have made a nice cozy little corner out of it.  

Now that I'm back and out again with my on-the-job training the class has broken up and were all scattered around so I have been thrown into a box of solitude giving me large amounts of time to reflect on where I'm at in the journey.  I definitely miss the comforts of my home and definitely miss being around my family, but I know this was a calling I was a long time coming and a journey that was greatly needed to help repair fractures, provide healing, and restore relationships.  Only God knows the outcome of this great chapter in my life and I can only continue to push forward as I seek out the next choices that will present itself in my daily life.  

Tomorrow morning, I will get into the car and head to a Boomtown known as Williston, North Dakota to spend the week in the yard.  I work at 10 PM to 10 AM shift, and will spend the time setting out railroad cars from the train and building trains from a switch list.  From what I hear, it's an interesting town that's been affected by a huge influx of work from all the oil rigs out there and with that influx has come an element of crime and drugs as well.  It'll definitely be interesting  to see what it's actually like though I'll be spending most of my time in the yard working or trying to be rested for the graveyard shift that I'll be on.  

I hope that all of the readers from this blog are at the least getting a little better insight as to what the life is like on the railroad or are finding that I'm doing well out here in this journey that I have taken on.  I'd like to thank you all that have tuned in and taken the time to look at my pictures or read my posts. I wish you all well in your days to come and will be back as usual in about a week.

This week! See what happens next...

Another week has passed and with its passing, concludes our tour in the classroom.  Several weeks full of information came to a close with a hostler final and a midterm term test to gauge where we are at in preparation for the final in two months.  All quizzes and tests require a minimum of 90% to pass. The hostler test was a must pass test in order to remain employed with the company.  It will allow us to run locomotives within a yard or terminal area after a few training rides.  I passed and will continue on as we head back out for seven weeks of on the job training before we come back for one final week of review before we take the final on June 12th. 

It's been over six weeks now with this journey and continue to push forward.  I miss my family dearly and wish I could just be in their presence.  My senses yearn for familiar.  Touch, smell, sight.   I hurt with its absence and wish I could look forward to a confirmed date but at this point, it doesn't look like I'll be able to afford to have them out for some time, until July for Romans birthday unless something opens up financially to have them out sooner.  I don't know if I can do it.  That's three months away and it's only been a month and a half.  I hate the sound of knowing that it'll be four and a half months that pass without them all in my daily life.  I don't know how long I could continue to do this knowing that I could continually be absent from their lives for that long in between visits.  

I've gotten a chance to make time to get away and try to enjoy myself with the people I work with by going out to the park for a bike ride or just connecting.  I went with a friend to visit his folks over the weekend in Miles City, which is a lot prettier in terms of color and topography. It reminds me a little of parts of Eastern Washington.  I also got the opportunity to check out a couple of surrounding towns that could be considered home, depending on where I'll be able to hold a position at.  The weekend was great and I was able to unplug for a moment of all that connects us to the rails.  Here are a few pictures of the week in general.  

Thank uou for everyone that has taken the time to view the blog and follow along with my journey. 

A Rare Find! The Journey Continues...

Well another week has passed and it has been one filled with information and emotion.  I've been in the classroom learning tons of information, and with every passing day a new topic is added to the plate.  Every day starts with a quiz in which we are all expected to average 90%, it's been a tough task to maintain thus far.  We lost two classmates this week as well.  One of the trainees realized that it wasn't a career they wanted to pursue and another one was fired.  

We started out as 22 strong that traveled from all over the country.  Some traveled from as far as the East Coast, Texas, OKC and the Pacific Northwest.  All bringing with them a dream, a pursuit of something better.  A better wage, a change in scenery, and for some of the locals, following in the foot steps of family members that are or were a part of the railroaders life. 

Six weeks have passed and three dreams continue forward, but not on the rails.  A different road has taken them home or even on a greater dream.  The railroad only serving as a vessel to that next path.  Saddened I am by ones departure but excited in the same sentence by knowing that this short move is drawing him one step closer to what pulls on his heart.  The next chapter in his life that includes his family, Western Montana and happiness.  It was only a month ago that I blogged about a nice Christian man that pulled up next to me in a parking lot as I was looking at a trailer and aided me in negotiating with the seller for it and moving it to the same park he was at.  I honestly would have endured a greater struggle in that initial month if it weren't for him.  He helped me out in so many ways and was a listening ear in my moments of need.  He quickly became family for me with being separated from my own.  

Ricky Bobby is what they called him in class, a retired police officer from Oklahoma.  He wanted more though.  A new chapter in Big Sky Country with his family where he could enjoy the change of pace from the city and transition to a life in the great outdoors.  I look forward to seeing his dream as its nurtured and comes to fruition.  Rarely do we encounter relationships in life that immediately grow to something special, so quickly.  I found that in this man and look forward to sharing in each other's wins as we come across them in this journey of our lives.  

Thank you Bobby for everything that you did for me.  You helped me in so many ways and even the littlest things were huge in aiding me in that time I got to know you.  Thank you for your friendship.  Your a great man and deserve to bask in the joys of that dream your following.  When you get there, know that I will be right there with you, celebrating!

Today, a barbeque held by another coworker was great.  It allowed coworkers to bond and relationships to grow.  It was a much needed break from the grind of all the information that we've been going over at work.  Monday, a big test that will certify us as hostlers.  What's that?  It'll allow us to drive a locomotive within a yard or terminal area to do work with local industry.  At the end of the week we will have a midterm to gauge where we're at in the course.  From there, back out on the rails for two month with on the job training, to implement the things that we've been learning in the classroom.  

Outside of all of that, we've continued to share a dinner table and I've cooked some of my favorites for my friends here at the rv park.  I see my kids regularly via FaceTime and miss them so much.  I've woken up to snowy days and have enjoyed a couple of steak lunches put on by my employer.  Easter came and Easter went.  Spent for the first time away from my family, I shared the pleasure of having a ham dinner put on by the manager of the rv park and my friends here at the park as well.  A kind gesture knowing that we were away from our families.  I went to the movies with the guys and even saw my first snow owl on a little trip we took up to the Canadian border. 

The journey continues...

Just trying.....

In life we are all on this journey, and in my opinion I see it as more like a quest for true happiness.  We all walk through chapters in our life, from the stresses of adolescence and through our public school days, to relationships and in our professional careers.  We'll never get it exactly right and things may or may not turn out to how we envisioned they would, but through all of those things that we encounter in our days, we try.  Without a handbook on guiding us how to walk through life in that quest for happiness, we fail and we fall.  It's not the failures or shortcomings that should define us, it's in those moments where we get back up that allow us the true lessons to learn something.  

In this journey that I've taken on over the last five weeks has given me a lot of time to get back up and learn something in life.  Believe me, I have had my share of falling and when I fall, I fall hard. I've definitely had my share of failures as well.  I will be the first in a room to raise my hand and acknowledge that I'm not perfect but I certainly try to do good.  

Whether it's with my actions or my choices, I've been lead onto a path. That Path has gotten me into trouble many of times. That path has found me love and joy as well.  That have brought me to a career that I once loved with the YMCA and that path put me through firefighting academy as well. That same path even has brought me to where I'm at today in Montana, training for a career on the railroad.  I have smiled with contentment from some of those choices and I have shed tears of sorrow from some of those choices as well.  Overall, we all walk on the path trying to find things through our choices and actions that will lead us to something that will bring us a joy and happiness in our life.  Regardless of any of the circumstances that we encounter I believe that we are all deserving of that joy and happiness in our life.  It's through the grace and love of God that we are given each day to go out and try to find that through our choices and decisions that we make.  

So my friends, go out in your days ahead and try, try with all your might.  Be happy, live in happiness. Surround yourself with joy, be in love and love like He loves us.  Enjoy your days, don't fret. Enjoy your job, be at peace with your friends and family and love them while you have them because it's those things that you have in your life that will bring you that joy and happiness. 

So that's what has been on my heart over the course of this past week. I've been off the rails and back in the classroom training. Spending 12+ hours a day learning, reading, writing and quizzing everyday.   I am learning so much about being a conductor for a class 1 railroad. I'm learning about several different forms of brakes and procedures that I'm overwhelmed with the amount that I have been able to retain in such short time.  Today I was able to get behind the engineers seat of a locomotive and get hands-on training on how to operate the head end of the train.  

Over this past week, I have also gotten the opportunity to really connect with a few of my coworkers as we have taken on cooking dinners instead of going out every night to eat. It's been a great week of fellowship at the dinner table and have been rotating on who says grace before meals.  I've taken on the role as being the primary cook for these meals and enjoy serving those that are closest to me right now in my life and have found joy in their contentment with my cooking.  I have to thank my wife for bringing that ability to spread joy through meals because I truly wouldn't know my way around the kitchen as I do now if it wasn't for her.  

In conclusion, be happy with each and every day that you wake up and go to rest.  I wish you all a wonderful Easter weekend.  Love those around us as Christ loves us. Remember why he went up on the cross, it was because of his love for us so we could have eternal life.  

Love