WALKIN' THE TRACKS

As a teen...I was never one to have much money...so I had to find 'free' ways to keep entertained...but out of trouble. My buddy Scott was the same way. One of the 'free' ways we found was just down the street from his house...the nearby railroad tracks.

Walking the rails was our challenge to each other...Scott on one rail...me on the other...we'd take off walking to see how far we could walk them...without falling off. We got to be pretty good...walking for blocks without falling. So then...we had to resort to distracting one another with jokes...yelling...feigning a fall...flailing of the arms...whatever it took to distract the opponent to get them to slip off.

The occasional train coming through...was usually the 'main' deterrent to staying on the tracks. We'd just step aside...let them pass...and resume the contest. On one occasion...it was a slow moving train...and we jumped on near the end of the train and rode it across town. The downside? It was a loooooong walk back home.

I see in the attached article...CSX says we were trespassing. We didn't know any difference...we were just having fun.


Dan