I'm on the train to Montreal for a few days of research. Half of the car is occupied by a well-behaved group of middle schoolers from Edmonton. They're on a grade 8 trip. One of their chaperones joked to me "we're the rowdy bunch." I've hardly heard a word from any of them since we left the station eight minutes ago. The funniest comments I heard are; "Our parents cheaped-out. If they had just paid a little extra we could have gone first class." " I hear that in first class, you get a free bag of chips."
I love traveling by train. The scenery seems different, more natural than it does by car. We're moving along through forest and swamp at the back of Eastern Ontario farms. Ploughed fields are still muddy, rivers and brooks still running high with rain and runoff. Enough of the romanticism though. Why is this form of transport so under-appreciated and under-funded in Canada? I'm going to Montreal. I'm staying and working downtown while I am there. The last thing I want to do is deal with the traffic and construction on the highways and city streets. The price of parking is ridiculous too. This is the way to go.
On a more serious note, I want to thank so many of my facebook contacts for their support yesterday after the controversy over my grading-related posts. Your support and sincerity as friends, family and colleagues was encouraging and affirming.
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