Yesterday, I took the Metra into the city, hopped the Lake Shore Limited (but not before getting half of my dinner stolen), and spent 24 hours on a single train. Don't try this at home, kids. Or anywhere else, for that matter. I had come armed only with my iPod, a deck of cards, a book I've read several times before, and my notebook. I had promised myself that I would start and complete an entire new song, which I accomplished readily, along with a couple pages of prose and a few more song ideas, mainly because I had nothing better to do. Fortunately, I was joined at Toledo (at about 1:30am) by an intelligent, open, and not unaattractive young woman named Shawnecy. She was off to see her fiancé in Framingham, so we had 15 or 16 hours to give our life stories and debate about religion, politics, gay marriage, the death penalty, and other such controversial topics. I finally arrived in Boston, where I was warmly greeted by Steve and Sage and Checkers (especially Checkers) with fresh pizza and a movie (Mystic River, which I hadn't seen. I quite liked it, but had some issues with the ending). I write this now from Steve's iBook while I wait for Dad, Pippa, and Bea to make their way over from Nantucket, so that we can all make the long haul home (after the dogs have a chance to get aquainted, I'm sure).