tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post7942251518607996621..comments2024-01-03T15:30:05.586-05:00Comments on Home in the railroad earth: Two Train Journeys, 40 Years Apartsteve on the slow trainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-31993779842741818202009-01-31T18:27:00.000-05:002009-01-31T18:27:00.000-05:00I was living in the South Bay area of Los Angeles ...I was living in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County when Robert Kennedy was murdered. It struck me when I saw the kitchen of the Hyperion Hotel, used as Angle's headquarters from season 2 through 4, that that room was where they took his body after the shooting. I can't see those scenes without those memories. <BR/><BR/>I attended Catholic school during those days. I don't think I left the TV from the beginning of that train ride to burial, except to eat. It was as if all my hope for the future died with Bobby.<BR/><BR/>I guess that sums up my own thoughts of Obama... he ran on hope and symbolizes the same for most of us... even in these dark economic times. IMO he's the smartest man in the room, so to speak, which is what I want from my President... not someone to drink a beer or joke around with. <BR/><BR/>Wonderful piece. Cheers.gnosticserenityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13680963473802745853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-68930786545114254952009-01-25T01:34:00.000-05:002009-01-25T01:34:00.000-05:00Peter--Thank you for your thoughtful comment. An ...Peter--Thank you for your thoughtful comment. An earlier RFK train, running over the former Wabash Railroad, was dubbed the the Ruthless Cannonball. The press even made up a song, to the tune of "The Wabash Cannon Ball." A short excerpt:<BR/><BR/>"The blacks in Gary love him,<BR/>The Poles all fill his hall;<BR/>There are no ethnic problems on The Ruthless Cannonball."steve on the slow trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-14618446910307463182009-01-24T07:15:00.000-05:002009-01-24T07:15:00.000-05:00Steve, that first film is a tear-jerker, for sure....Steve, that first film is a tear-jerker, for sure. And the faces -- as Clinton claimed of his first cabinet, they look like America. I haven't seen that too much since RFK until I went to an Obama rally this past fall.<BR/><BR/>And everyone so still in respect and mourning. It's hard to picture a nation so still.<BR/><BR/>RFK was my favorite politician of my youth. The parallels with Obama are striking -- the cool (both in the sense of popular and unflappable) exterior with the practical, nonidealistic (some may end up saying ruthless) approach to governing, the call to public service, and the appeal to youth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-81776494309458612332009-01-22T23:08:00.000-05:002009-01-22T23:08:00.000-05:00Charles--Thank you.Olivia--Thank you for the thoug...Charles--Thank you.<BR/><BR/>Olivia--Thank you for the thoughtful comments. I suspect it's partly my generation. I was 16 when King and RFK were killed. From 1968 on, we've had either Republicans or fairly conservative southern Democrats. This is the first time since 1960 that a candidate I can get excited about has won the presidency.<BR/><BR/>What Obama and RFK have in common is an ability to unite the nation. After stealing the 2000 election with help from five "justices," George W. Bush won in 2004 by bringing out his base and actively suppressing the votes of everyone else. Clinton won in 1992 mainly because Ross Perot took more votes from George H.W. Bush than from him. But Obama won with a fifty-state strategy, winning Indiana, Virginia, and North Carolina.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure he will be his own man, but for me, he's also a redemption of the last forty years. The may very well be the beginnign of the Obama era. I heard historian Eric Foner say that Obama's election marks the end of the Reagan era.<BR/><BR/>Kellie--You've removed your "Tea" cosy and are blogging under your own name! I'm optimistic--and that's something for a guy who grew up reading Bierce and Mencken.steve on the slow trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-25548130738079228232009-01-22T01:21:00.000-05:002009-01-22T01:21:00.000-05:00Thank you for posting these, Steve!I look forward ...Thank you for posting these, Steve!<BR/><BR/>I look forward to seeing how it is going in a few months. Right now it's "Kennedy this, MLK that." The pomp and circumstance were happy, but now, we have to see how he will lead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-37111546237717426622009-01-20T21:10:00.000-05:002009-01-20T21:10:00.000-05:00Frankly, I get nervous at the unending comparisons...Frankly, I get nervous at the unending comparisons between Barack Obama and Lincoln, MLK, RFK, JFK, and I don't have to explain why, do I?<BR/><BR/>I get it that he's new, fresh, and the first of his kind to take the office, just as Lincoln and JFK were of their kind (one an emancipator and one a Catholic *gasp*). <BR/><BR/>But still, I get nervous...and in addition they just need to let him be himself. I am sure he will set his own tone over the next 4 years and cause a creative flurry as pundits try to come up with a title for this new era.Oliviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04014351759393921274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-91663515323912812692009-01-20T17:59:00.000-05:002009-01-20T17:59:00.000-05:00Beautiful thoughts.Beautiful thoughts.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-30389874627776395972009-01-20T17:36:00.000-05:002009-01-20T17:36:00.000-05:00Usman--Good to hear from you. Many thanks.Gerry--...Usman--Good to hear from you. Many thanks.<BR/><BR/>Gerry--I'm sorry to hear the story. There were all the stories that people in Texas cheered when JFK was assassinated, but I had my doubts. From your story about RFK, maybe the earlier stories are true as well.<BR/><BR/>Karen--Thank you.steve on the slow trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-5280706025912147242009-01-20T13:49:00.000-05:002009-01-20T13:49:00.000-05:00Steve, thanks so much for the reminder that RFK wa...Steve, thanks so much for the reminder that RFK was a giant among visionaries who also deserves to be remembered and honored on this historic day. K.Sustenance Scouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12980573661955592633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-54800118517430119472009-01-20T09:25:00.000-05:002009-01-20T09:25:00.000-05:00When Bobby Kennedy was murdered, I was serving in ...When Bobby Kennedy was murdered, I was serving in the Air Force in Lubbock, Texas. Almost every local I knew well enough to hear voice their thoughts was actually glad he was killed.<BR/><BR/>It makes me sad to remember that time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-7499353978827776452009-01-20T07:23:00.000-05:002009-01-20T07:23:00.000-05:00Steve, Nice post, and shows how the Americans feel...Steve, Nice post, and shows how the Americans feel in general about their new president.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-75170011638154696152009-01-20T07:15:00.000-05:002009-01-20T07:15:00.000-05:00Lisa, Elizabeth--Thank you. I'll be working during...Lisa, Elizabeth--Thank you. I'll be working during the inauguration, though my wife, daughter Sarah, and son-in-law Desh will be in Washington, on Edward Kennedy's office balcony. (Sarah and Desh have a friend who's a staffer for EMK.) I hope to have a report on their adventures in the next few days.steve on the slow trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257811143869341854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-15633125549797044532009-01-20T03:00:00.000-05:002009-01-20T03:00:00.000-05:00Thank you for this, Steve. The first is heart-brea...Thank you for this, Steve. The first is heart-breaking but beautiful, especially his last lines. Aren't we all blessed, really?Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313726816776097840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12159522.post-42135734313856860552009-01-20T00:54:00.000-05:002009-01-20T00:54:00.000-05:00This is just a beautiful post. Thank you for shari...This is just a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing these thoughts.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.com