Back on Amtrak

Tags

high speed rail, Penn Station, postaday2013, slow trains, train travel, trains

The baby girl and I are on a train heading south to New York to spend a couple of days with Mamie, my mother, and my sister, Tatie. Since the baby girl has her spring break this week, I figured why not take a few days to head into the city, albeit the city is 3 hours away. One of the years perhaps we will see Amtrak putting in a high speed rail line between Springfield Massachusetts and New York City but for now it takes a solid 3 hours to get from Springfield to New York City. It is a comfortable ride with a dining car available for hot or cold beverages and a limited selection of sandwiches and salads. So we can’t complain, it is infinitely better than the bus in my estimation, Amtrak offers free Wi-Fi which I am not sure that the bus offers and the restrooms are much cleaner on the train.

By way of scenery there isn’t much to see because we are still in the throes of winter so the trees are naked and whatever greenery there might have been, has all turned brown or is still covered with some snow. I still took a picture or two to give you the general idea of our adventure down to the big city.

Stop rhyming I mean it, anyone got a peanut?

Tags

favorite movies, movies, poetry, postaday2013, writing, writing challenges

Take a quote from a favorite movie and make it a title to your post, now write.

One of my favorite movies of all time is the Princess Bride written by William Goldman and starring a whole slew of actors such as; Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Mandy Patankin, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest and directed by Rob Reiner. I have watched it so many times with my hubby that we can quote lines from the movie all day long. The line in the title is a play on words taken up by Andre the Giant, Mandy Patankin and the character actor who plays the diabolical mastermind Vissini.

What do we do if there are rocks ahead, If there are then we all be dead. You have a gift for rhyme. Yes I do most of the time. Stop rhyming I mean it anyone got a peanut?

This is but one sample of the verbal nuggets that exist throughout the movie. Another comes when Vissini keeps saying inconceivable each and every time that the man in black defies all obstacles and continues to gain on them. Finally Mandy Patankin says Inconceivable, you keep saying that word, but I do not think that it means what you think it means. Vissini just scowls and says you wait for the man in black and dispatch him with your sword. Mandy says you know that I will do him left handed. Visssini says you know that we are on a schedule. Mandy says that it is the only way that I will be satisfied.

I can go on for the entire movie. It is that good in my humble opinion. Are there any life lessons in the movie? True love, it doesn’t happen everyday but when it does nothing can stop it.

I know that this wasn’t the aim of the prompt, keep quoting your favorite movie but this is what I got while thinking of the Princess Bride, a mindful of dialogue uttered by wonderful characters in a most enchanting fairy tale replete with sword fights, heroes, giants, wizards, evil princes, damsels in distress and true love.