I chased a train and caught it
Yesterday, I chased a train and caught it. After four and a half boring hours of sitting uncomfortably in a train, my girlfriend and I arrived in Aalborg where my parents live. Greeted by my mom, we soon drove to my old home.
Just as we got there, I realized I had forgotten a small suitcase with my audio recording gear in it in the train. Shit.
So, my mom and girlfriend got out and I took on the adventure of racing the train. Alone and determined. Knowing I had to succeed.
But how far had the train come - what station should I head for? I took a peek at my watch. We got off approximately fifteen minutes ago. It was already too late for the next station, Vestbyen. But was it too late for Lindholm? The train couldn’t have made it that far by then, but I needed to cross the inlet and I surely wouldn’t be able to make it there before the train would be gone. Damn it. Will I have to go all the way to Frederikshavn - the train’s last station? No, I’m going to try Brønderslev.
And off I went. Starting out by choosing a complete idiot’s way to the highway, I was off to a great start. Nice, Mikkel. This year’s Roskilde Festival had ended the day before so the radio was playing live recordings from the week before, only interrupted by the host reading out reminiscing SMSes from the listeners. I had gone to the festival, so the memories calmed me a bit down, and though I didn’t break any speed limits (by much) I drove .. determined.
The last time I had been in Brønderslev, I was there for a stand-up gig at the local gymnasium, and that time I had picked up my good friend Thomas at the station, so I knew where in town I had to go.
I arrived with no train in sight. Quickly locked the car and ran for the tracks. I had to go under them through a tunnel to get to the platform and just as I got to the top of the stairs and turned around I saw the train arriving. The same train I had left thirty minutes before. Beat’ya! I couldn’t find a staff member I could ask to make the train wait, so I just went for it. Found my car, jumped in, saw my suitcase, grabbed it and ran out. Success!
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Starting out by being an idiot forgetting my bag I now felt like a hero.
Like when you knock something over but grab it before it hits the floor. Awesome.
