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Now the smells in Max Brenner’s chocolate restaurant were pretty powerful, but nothing hit me more than your compliment towards me and my sister on a recent trip. You had such a pleasant energy, nothing forced, and you made us feel right at home. I don’t know how it’s possible to standout, especially to us “Gals”, next to huge vats of chocolate… But you did. It was a pleasure. Stay sweet always… #giveapenny

I was on my way to NYC for the weekend, and per the usual I took the train. Every time I ride, I use my headphones to slowly slip me into a melodic trance that tends to last the entire two hour trip, but this time was different. This time my phone was on about 10% battery life and conservation was most important, so I was forced to spend my two hours reading a magazine and hearing the train car. It’s pretty cool sometimes to remove yourself from electronic devices and remember what it’s like to just hear and take in the world. You might even learn something when you allow yourself to just hear. I did, I learned something, and this is the story.

When sitting on a train alone, with no headphones, you tend to play the fly on the wall. Almost feeling as if no one knows your listening. Sometimes people even talk as if no one is listening, and that’s exactly the careless energy that exuded from 4 teenaged broskies who sat across from me, on the way to a concert in New York City for one of their birthdays. 

They were tie-dyed, ear gauged, VAN wearing dudes, equally excited to be on the train with one another, and for it to stop at their destination. 

These dudes were cool. Unknowing that I was a fly-on-the-wall, I was listening to their back and forth wrap session about life, music, friends, priorities, and fun times. I just couldn’t help myself. Their laughs were geeky and lovable, and at some points, I even secretly laughed with them out of pure infectiousness. They weren’t the cool kids, but they were the fun kids, and surprisingly very wise.

I heard one kid say, “life is a gamble”. They all agreed. Another said, “I hate this two hour train ride dude, but we make the best of life, of anything, that’s what we do”. They all agreed. 

Some of their conversation even consisted of a science lesson about positive and negative energy. I think one boy was a science buff. He was also electrocuted, so he said… 25 volts of pure electric energy and his dad could only come near him with rubber boots or else he would have “been fried too”. It was a good story, and he, his friends, and I were loving the entertainment of the trip.

Their stories and laughs brought me back to high school. To the feeling of no worries in the world, complete present tense, no focus on the future. Your only worry was where you would be going and partying that weekend with your friends. Laughing, joking, and playing around with, the friends who loved you. At that time, that was what life was all about. 

This was another dialogue that made me laugh, where one talked about the biggest confidence boost of his life! Gym class was where these kids didn’t excel, but one boy found hope. 

“Yo, remember Mr. Ryan’s class? Where I made that half court shot at gym?”

“Bro, you sucked”

“Yeah, but after I made that one shot, my confidence sky-rocketed dude! I was a baller!”

We all laughed. 

It was now that time. Two hours had gone by, the train stopped, and our fun was over, but I felt like I had to say goodbye to them, so I did. 

We all got up from our seats and as I looked over at them, one of the boys and I made eye contact. I said:

Seriously dudes, I have to thank you for one of the most entertaining train rides ever. I couldn’t help but ease drop on your conversations and you all had me cracking up. Just wanted to tell you guys to have fun in NYC and Happy Birthday to who ever the birthday boy is!

They all looked at me, cracked up laughing, and said:

That is so cool man, no problem! Hahaha It’s actually his birthday and his birthday this weekend and we’re pumped about it. We hope you have a great trip too and a good weekend! Glad we could help out with the boredom of a two hour train ride. Have a good one! 

Four skater boys, one train car, and two ears of a stranger had me thinking…

Do you ever stop to just hear?

What do you hear?

Who are you listening too?

Who are your influencers?

And, if you could ride a two hour train ride with anyone, who would you bring and why? 

The people we surround ourselves in this life make up our personal trains… and build the tracks to either a positive or negative destination. 

On that train, is that what you do? Do you “Make the Best of Life”?

This is what I’m thinking about now. This is what I learned to ask myself. This is what I learned by just hearing 4 skater boys on a train.

“Girl on a Train” 1966