On The Train
I go on the train...
I’ve only been on the train in winter. In all honesty, it’s not too bad, just a little dark and a little cold.
The trip may be long, and I may be horrified at the thought of using the bathroom, but the extra legroom, the beautiful views, and the solitude of my own thoughts really make up for the shortcomings of train travel.
Despite my many frigid journeys in November, December, and January, I had never gone on the train in the springtime. I didn’t think it would be any different.
In mid-May, I saved up for a train ticket to go and celebrate my friends’ graduation.
It was odd.
I wasn’t wearing a 10-pound chunky coat, hobbling around with restricted mobility, forcing myself onto the locomotive. I was actually sweating instead of trying to conserve my own warmth.
It was very unusual.
As the train awoke with a jarring shake, the conductor came by and scanned my ticket. I settled into my seat and took out my sketchbook. Drawing the seats around me and brainstorming new story and comic ideas that had been swimming around my mind.
3 hours in, I got bored and ended up looking out the window.
Small towns passed me by and I was glimpsing into the lives of people I’d never meet.
An employee clocking out of work, excited to go home. A family reunion, top-heavy luggage falling on the ground as a child leaps into their mother’s arms. A father and son are fishing along the Mississippi on a rickety dock.
In the winter, the world was in hibernation, and I didn’t get these visions into other people’s lives.
We cross past a bridge, a father and a daughter sitting on it, and they wave.
My head hurt from hunger and dehydration.
Despite my physical weariness, my cracked lips spread into a smile.
Long time no see, friend, it’s been a while since I posted. I’ve been lacking inspiration, but I feel it creeping back.
I have been in a bit of a creative rut lately, and have been thinking about K. Woodman-Maynard’s Substack, “Creating Comics.” Their latest batch of articles has been covering diary comics, and they have encouraged me to try my hand at them. Go check out their Substack and make some diary comics!
If you want to see more of my art, or get a deeper look into my process or stories I’ve been working on, subscribe.
Until next time,
MG