stephen h

(again, follow more news, thoughts, photos and videos on my twitter.)

the afternoon has been pleasant. the plains of montana leave nothing to report, just more of us snaking our way across the flatlands on rails…

i got a short nap in earlier, pretty much exactly one hour to the minute, waking up to see us about to pull into another station. we’ve been through one or two since then, going past havre and now malta. out here there really isn’t much to photograph or report on at all except the rare landmark like “fifteen mile creek,” a sign and even a creek i would’ve missed if blinking.

the land is covered in brown and yellow grass, with a rare bush or tree breaking ground, defying the crust only enough to still appear mostly dead, like a hand reaching out for its last hope for survival. despite all the clouds overhead, i don’t see any rain happening, so things look like they’ll remain as is.

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Tags: montana, stephen h, Thoughts, train, Writings

(for more info and photos, see my twitter feed at http://twitter.com/stephentheh)

first night on the train to minnesota…

i became overwhelmed with emotion soon after giving my last hugs and goodbyes to the small group of my closest friends who came to see me off at the train station. they had all brought gifts of fresh-baked goods, including some amazing chocolate chip cookies and a couple loaves of my favorite sourdough bread. it wasn’t until i boarded the train and sat down that the tears came, and so it goes…

leaving portland there were some beautiful sights. the fall leaves along the railways, my last sighting of the st. johns bridge(looking regal as always in the sunset), it made me instantly think of ways to make it back to portland to visit in the fall…

not too long into the trip i met hazel, an elderly woman who was sitting in the seat in front of mine. she was about 75 if she was a day, but still had a very bright and open soul. we got to talking about where we coming from(she couldn’t remember the name of the town she boarded the train at, which i thought was adorable), and i gave her bits of my story. she was headed up to spokane to visit a granddaughter who was attending school there, apparently training to become a pilot, following in the footsteps of her mother or aunt(i can’t remember which).

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Tags: montana, stephen h, Thoughts, travel, Writings

this is a busy month for me, getting ready to move across the country to be close to family again, just in time for the holidays… one of those things that happens in life that one could either dread or look forward to with excitement, and i’m still in the middle, with the only dread coming because of all the friends i’ll be leaving behind, even though i’m sure i’ll be able to see them again.

but longing isn’t enough sometimes, and needs outweigh the wants.

creatively, i think that a new city will be just what i need… i feel a sort of creative stalemate with much of what i’ve been doing lately, and it’s time for a change. new faces, new places, new streets to roam. familiar faces will be there too, finally being close to family again for the first time in years, and that will be a comfort i’m sure through the expected cold winter ahead.

what’s left to be done?

mostly packing, consolidating, getting rid of the old so i can move and acquire anew. saying goodbyes… this will be tough, especially on me, as that’s never been something i’m any good at. goodbyes like this are always temporary, and should be said with that in mind, but somehow i never can.

one of the weirdest pieces of the transition for me is slowly but surely removing all my portland-related subscriptions in my RSS reader and twitter account – people, businesses, organizations and news feeds i used to follow zealously for their juicy bits of local information, no longer are relevant to me. now i just wonder what i will find to replace them with in my new hometown.

-h

Tags: black & white, black and white, Images, News, photography, stephen h, Thoughts