Metrolink111: Love Your Best Station Girl (1)
Shelley J Alongi

 

Does Glen know my name? The kiss of the engineer and everything in between. New names and the dance. Love your best station girl.

Where Is the Flaw

Monday, October 2, Orange County Transit Authority bus 47 lets me off at dock number 5 across from the Fullerton train station, leaving a very relieved middle-aged adolescent on the cobblestones. I make my way slowly over to the other side of the parking lot, the train station awaits. The time is 6:00 pm and I am glad to be here. Work has been a zoo. After a very serious system outage, we are back to making reservations and taking calls, doing overtime and extending shifts, at least for Monday.

I enter the Santa Fe Caf�, Jose stands glibly at the counter just looking around. I order ice-cream and a Diet Doctor pepper.

I make my way out to the patio where Bob, Janice, and Jaris sit waiting for trains. Jaris waits for the Amtrak Pacific Surf liner 785.

�So,� Janice enthuses, �how was your trip? And your meeting with Glen?�
Everyone sits up in anticipation, hanging on my every word.

"He's a nice man," Jaris says as I recount Glen's words about it being a pleasure meeting me.

I sit there for a few more minutes, recovering from a long day.

"Well I'm going to go over there," I say and head over to take my usual position at the marker where glen and other operators rests the train.

"I'm so nervous," I tell Janice before I head over the bridge to the track.

"Why?"

I'm nervous because I found a locomotive engineer in the cab who will talk to me. I went out of my way to get him and Janice helped out. I have a mad crush on him. Why are you asking me if I'm nervous? Today I'm only nervous till I get to the stairs.

"You'll have to meet another one," Janice tells me.

"I know. I used to have parties in the nineties and I need a bigger house so I can invite them all to the parties."

"What about the room mate?"

"She can come with me."

He Remembered

I make my way to the track where I decide today to eat cereal, juggling the yellow bag which has just gotten a wash in the laundry, my white canvas bag with food in it and my cane. I feel like I'm putting on makeup in front of the mirror, it's only chapstick. The clock chimes its sonorous tones from the clock tower. My light blue jacket hangs off my left shoulder, the cool balmy weather does not warrant so much cuddling today. This jacket will end up in the yellow bag along with everything else. Bruce sitting on the north side of the track says its coming. The bell gently warns of Glen�s approach. I�ve missed the mark today but I�m concentrating so I find my way to the bell. Glen sets the brakes, powers down the engine, looks down from his Alfa cat position in the train.

�Hey!� He�s cheerful today. �How are things at Disneyland?�

I do a double take on the platform. My engineer remembers where I work. But something occurs to me, and I think of this earlier in the day. I don�t know if he knows my name. I told him my name in the letter and I think he might have said it once, but I honestly can�t remember if he knows my name. It�s okay. I know his name; that�s important. I think of this as I cross the bridge, but right now it�s all about him remembering where I work.

�Busy,� I respond, smiling, looking up. �We did overtime today.�

I don�t tell him the day was a zoo; Lordie was it a zoo! I barely get to the station at 6:00 PM ready for a serious break from the day; I am ready for Glen.
Next time I think I�ll ask him how his day was; or how are things on the train? Too personal? I don�t think so. We�ve only been having these two minute exchanges for two weeks.
Standing there, not harassed by any passengers trying to help me, maybe they see me talking to Glen, I bring up our next topic of conversation. I spend a significant amount of time during the day thinking of what to ask him. His answer tonight surprises me; but not before I surprise him first. I imagine his face sort of gets that what? Look and maybe his hands do something, but his voice sure says he�s surprised. Glen is so expressive. I picked a keeper didn�t I? Glen and Shelley both full of surprises.

�So where do I find specs for the engines?� I want to know. It is the question I�ve been planning to ask all day.

He no doubt shakes his head, thinking.

�I can find pictures.�

�Isn�t that enough?� his voice questions.

�I�d rather have the specs.�

I�ve always been a girl for specifications, even if I don�t translate that knowledge into newborn babies, height, weight, length. Give me horsepower, fuel capacity, stamina, cubic centimeters, anything!
My adopted engineer hesitates, taking up precious time.

�Come on,� I encourage, looking up, smiling, �you�re the engineer. You should know.� My natural tendency to laugh at anything amusing surfaces here, I�m so convinced this man knows everything I�m just amused that he might actually not know something about trains.

�Check EMD,� he says. He doesn�t sound annoyed, he just doesn�t know. EMD is the locomotive manufacturer that provides Metrolink with its engines. I could have thought of that, but no, it took the railroad engineer with 40 years experience to tell me to go to the source, something I should have known from grad school.

Ah, sigh!

More seconds tick away, the engine idles.

�On Friday you pulled out of fullerton and blew the horn. Why did you do that?�

�There were welders working on the track. They had a flashing yellow light, that was good but I wanted to let them know I was coming.�

�Oh.� On the patio Janice suggests that perhaps he did that to say goodbye to me. I don�t� think so; he doesn�t strike me as the type who blows that horn for frivolous amusement though I may be surprised about that sometime, too.

�I don�t like that sound,� I admit, �it reminds me of Chatsworth.�

�yeah.�
Glen thinks about this.
�There�s no crossing there at all.�

�There is before the tunnel I thought there was a crossing.�

The engine powers up, the bell sounds, our conversation is ended on a cliffhanger. Is there a crossing? Which crossing is he talking about? Which crossing am I talking about?

Stay tuned. I don�t� think I�m going to argue with a railroad engineer about a crossing but I�m curious now. It isn�t really so much the crossings it is the fact that many of the locomotives provided to Metrolink have a two note horn warning system. There is plenty of opportunity between Chatsworth station and that first tunnel to blow that horn. Right after the accident I didn�t like any horns. Now, only the sound of that horn haunts me. Maybe we�ll talk about it tomorrow. Maybe not.

At various points across the tracks, groups gather in knots, Mohr, her name is Moreno, talks about something with one group, curt the bike guy looks for cans, I sit on the planter just thinking till Curt asks me where I am. I get up and go down to the east end of the platform.

�Don�t mess with my glen,� I tell curt�; we�re talking about how he always sends people into unsuspecting situations. �Don�t mess with my Alfa cat.�

�Who is Glen?� asks Dave, the one who always calls me Sheila. Yes even he�s here tonight.

�Let�s let Shelley tell you who glen is,� curt says.

I can�t talk. I�m blushing. No I�m just smiling. I�m not hiding any of my delight tonight. Why should I?

�My whole day is worth that two minutes,� I tell Janice earlier on the patio.

�Look at how her face lights up,� curt says and laughs. I think he thinks I�m in an unsuspecting situation. I know exactly what I�m doing! I�m going to go check EMD for specs. I�m thinking of my next question for Glen.

Question of the Day

�Glen, these people on the other side of the tracks are killing me!�
It has been a long day at work though not as hectic as yesterday. Apparently people have gotten all their system backlog of calls taken care of and now they can start asking questions about next year and doing holiday travel. They are tolerant today and it hasn�t been a bad day. The only thing that happens is that I show up at the station and take the scenic route because I�m too caught up in making Glen�s train which I�m not in danger of missing by any means. I get off at the wrong bus stop and so I have to walk out of my way to get there. At 5:00 I get a call from someone who wants a complicated reservation. By the time I get over to the bridge at the station it is 6:30. I have half an hour to prepare for Glen�s train. If it sounds like some kind of religions ritual, I suppose it could be, though the time it takes to locate the train is becoming less. It is a matter of comfort I suppose.

 �Shelley,� says Larry as he crosses the bridge to track three. �My name is Glen and I am in love with you.�
Larry is always teasing me mercilessly about all of it.
�Sure you are,� I say knowing he knows I know he�s not glen.
�We didn�t see you coming?�
�I was late, for me, I was late.�
�Janice kept looking for you. We looked up and she said how the hell did she get over there?�
Well, I walked across the bridge as a freight train sped through.
�You guys were probably all gawking at the train.�
�Probably.�
The air is pleasantly cool. The days have been gently warm, the evenings crisp, causing the station to become desolate after the Southwest Chief leaves out of Fullerton.
�Okay I�m going to go back over on the other side of the tracks.�

Larry exits stage right, taking the stairs, leaving me alone to await Glen�s train.

About 7:00 pm I stand there tense ready to spring into action.

�It�s coming,� Bruce tells me from the other side of the tracks.
I remember when I hardly spoke to any of the people on the other side of the tracks. Now they all keep an eye out for my adopted engineer and his train.
�The light is green,� Janice says.
The bell sounds in the distance. I find him easily tonight.
�Hello.�
Glen,� I make my pronouncement. �These people on the other side of the tracks are killing me! They keep telling me when the train is coming. I know that.�
�yeah,� Glen gives his famous single one word response.
There�s not much time as usual.
�they�re putting in another train,� Glen informs me. �It goes from here to Mission Viejo.�
�You mean back here?� I curl my manicured hand into a fist, jerking my thumb in the direction behind us where the very beginning stages of a construction project lurks in the dark fall evening.
�yeah.�
�I know. It�s going to take nine months. That�s crazy.�
Glen thinks about this for a moment.
�That�s the way it is.�
Conversation falters. It is time for the question of the day.
�What is your favorite train route?�
�Yosemite,� he says, surprising me.
�All those train routes across country and Yosemite is your favorite?�
�yeah,� he says again.
Okay, I�ll take it.
It�s time for glen to pull away, I bless his train and another day has ended.

Waiting for Shelley�s Train

Wednesday isn�t such a bad day. I get off early from work, go home, get a nap, get some work done and then leave for the station. I could forego glen tonight but I would miss him too much and in a few months when we get very busy at work I won�t make it to the station as often as I can make it now. If we add overtime and I�m sure we will at some point I always have the option to refuse it. However I�ve always said I was available to take it and financially it would be a good idea to do so. Glen draws me to the station; besides it�s becoming like a family; Larry Dan, Bob, Janice, Bruce, Howe and Clarita, even Mohr with her own quirks. We�re all united in our fascination for trains and maybe by my adopting of an engineer.

�You make their day� someone at work says.

I think I just make them smile. I don�t really know anyone who talks to the Metrolink engineers at the fullerton train station. Right now one Metrolink engineer makes my day. He makes me smile so I guess I�m just passing along the joy.

I get to the station, go inside and take care of personal business and make my way to the bridge, walking down the platform lined with people waiting for the trains, their bags at their feet. A guitarist and a mandolin player entertain the people dotting the platform. I make my way confidently, using the safety line to the railroad tracks to guide me. I cross the bridge.

�Do you want the elevator?� someone asks as I take the first flight down. Why do people always ask me if I want the elevator when I�m taking the stairs?

�If I wanted the elevator would I be on the stairs?�
It�s a logical question.
�I could hold it for you.�
I�m on the stairs, never mind, case closed.

I arrive at the bottom of the stairs, make my way to the place where Glen�s train stops. It�s not time by any means and just as I get there Metrolink 606 pulls up. I could talk to its engineer if I wasn�t so nervous.

�Where are you going?�

It�s the engineer, and I know it is because I�m sort of used to this now.

�I�m not going anywhere. I�m just here waving at you.�

�Where are you going?�

he doesn�t get it.

�I�m just here. I usually talk to the next one but I�m early.�

�Just a little,� says the engineer.

Here I am again, nervous. It has taken me two months to get Glen to interact with me. It is easier on my schedule to get to Glen�s train so there is definitely an established relationship here. Now I�ll have to start all over again and tonight the prospect makes me nervous. There will never be another glen.

I stand there, waiting. Perhaps tomorrow I�ll come by and say hello again so he remembers me.

�I was on your train on Monday.�

�oh on Monday?�

It was really Friday but somehow Monday got stuck in there.
The engine idles and engineer number 6 pulls the train away.

�Have a good evening,� says the engineer.

�You, too.�

I wave, the bell sounds, then he blows the horn. There must be workers down the tracks. Maybe there is someone too close to the tracks. I know he wasn�t saying goodbye to me.

�Are you waiting for your train Shelley?�

Andy the Metrolink agent stands there having crossed the bridge.

�Yeah.�

It�s my train. Everyone has started calling Metrolink606 �Shelley�s Train.� No, thank you. Glen can have his train. I don�t want to share his responsibility only admire him for it. He�s my engineer but the train is his train.
 
�You didn�t come on Monday.�

He had some other station to take care of; Wednesday is usually the day to take care of Fullerton.

�What do you do here?�

�make sure people get on the right train.�

It is twenty minutes till seven and I�m not nervous. I remember when I couldn�t touch that locomotive. Now Glen invites me, I approach with confidence, and even the pre-ritual is becoming less stressful.

�What stations do you serve?�

�Fullerton, Orange, Anaheim Canyon, Norwalk, Buena Park.� Andy�s shift is 12:00 to 8:30 and he serves six stations, choosing two in one day.

�Any more than that and I�m stuck in traffic,� he explains.

We stand by the second palm tree.

�I just talked to the other engineer,� I say.

I explain how I go about thinking of a question each day to ask Glen. I explain also that tonight, Wednesday, Janice is working, Jaris won�t be here and Bruce is working.

�I saw Bob,� he says.

�Yeah he�s here. And me. When my job gets busy I won�t be able to make it so much except now that I have a hobby I might not do so much overtime. We�ll see.�
We know my thoughts on that one I don�t have to explain them here.

 

 

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Copyright © 2009 Shelley J Alongi
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