Scottish Scenes

Looking out the window, the red-winged blackbird seemed to be stationary right alongside the window. “I haven’t seen that before.” I said out loud. Then a train whistle sounded. Suddenly I came to the realization that the bird was indeed flying, and the window I thought was in my house was in fact a train window.

I hadn’t been on a train since my first time in New York City. I certainly didn’t want to be on a train now. Maybe if I proved I had no ticket, I could get kicked off.

“Sir, I am not sure why you are bragging about not having a ticket, but we are not stopping anytime soon.”

Then the announcer came on the speakers. It turns out I was only on the subway, and it had been switched to express. I don’t know if I slept walk to the train or had the most vivid dream ever.

Then other weird things began happening. A hot dog vendor rolled through the car, two passengers got up with boxing gloves and fought, and then my friends all came in from the next car over.

Then all of the sudden my friend pulled a Virtual Reality set off of my head. My confusion deepened. Was I in a layered dream like Inception? What was Leonardo DiCaprio trying to get from me?

Then an alarm began to sound. It slowly got louder and louder. Soon, I truly woke up. The train seat was comfortable, and the view was fantastic. Scotland is famous for beautiful train rides. Sadly, I had just slept through much of it. We had flown in so late the night before that I was exhausted. I redoubled my focus. Purple heather stretched for miles. The sky was a very British sky, overcast but not gloomy. Beautiful highlands stretched as far as the eye could see.

Soon we would be in Inverness, searching for Nessie. The Loch is supposed to be so beautiful. Then we hope to explore the Isle of Skye and eventually the castles in and near Edinburgh. Hopefully we find some pubs along the way too.

Then I looked out the window again. There was a red-winged blackbird flying evenly with the train. “Are there even red-winged blackbirds in Scotland?” I thought. Then I started to look for my ticket. After not finding it, I really started to panic.

A heavily accented voice came over the speaker. It sounded like we would not be getting of the train anytime soon. I knew I shouldn’t have let Mom talk me into this Spring Break trip. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Everham came in from another car, carrying beers for us all. “Here are your tickets if the conductor asks. I forgot to give them to you.”

I looked out the window again. “Did anyone else see that red-winged blackbird?” I asked.

Dr. Everham looked at me strangely. “You need some more sleep young man.” I laughed it off, though I was a little nervous of what sleep might bring.

Soon the train was moving again. We made it to Inverness. The hills around Loch Ness had a beautiful dusting of snow. The tour guide said something about a lot of snow, while talking about two inches, which is nothing compared to back home.

Leaving the tour guide an hour or two later, Dr. Everham brought us to an Irish pub for supper. A local was singing some Eagle Eye Cherry as we ordered our Guieness. I stared down into the shamrock of foam in my glass. How real dreams can feel? Then again, how dreamy life can be? The trip had barely begun, but it already seemed too good to be true.