Right now I can hear the long, mellow whistle of a train. It covers for just a bit the low rumble of the train moving along the tracks. I'm too far away to hear the more abrupt clacking of the wheels. From this distance, the sounds are softened and smooth.
When I was a little girl, I remember lying in bed and listening to the trains. The tracks were about a half mile from our house, and the whistle threaded its way through the woods and into the window of the room I shared with one of my sisters. I'm sure that I sometimes heard the trains during the night, but I mostly remember hearing them in the early morning, especially when we had the windows open to the cool night air of late spring and summer. I would lie there in the gray almost-light before dawn, not awake or asleep, and I'd listen to the trains. Maybe I wondered where they had been or where they were going, but mostly I think I just listened to them pass.
I still hear trains in the early morning. The tracks are not so far away from our home, but now the rumble of train on tracks and the long warning whistles pass through neighborhoods and parking lots to reach my ears. There is still just enough distance to mute the sounds so they match the muted light of early morning, and it's just as I remember it. As dark to fade to light, I sometimes find myself listening. Not quite awake, but definitely not asleep, I listen to them pass and remember.
I just love how sounds, music, and words can take us back to certain memories.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your description of the muted sounds matching the muted light is just wonderful!
We once lived where we could hear trains, & now & then we remember, so nostalgically. What lovely descriptions you gave us, especially those final sentences.
ReplyDeleteWow -- rushing memories just flooded my brain! I would spend a week or two at my grandparent's house in the summer when I was a kid. They lived a half a mile away from the train tracks. As I read your piece, I closed my eyes remembering the freight trains that slowly chugged by on the summer nights as the warm breeze blew through the open windows. Thank you for the memories. . .
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike, as I was walking today I heard a train and commented to my husband on the sound because it is at least 2 miles away from our house. I was filing the sounds in my mind for a possible future slice.
ReplyDeleteYou could have easily described the sounds coming from my windows in the morning. We are 1/4 mile away from the tracks and the soft whistle is our reminder to get moving in the morning. It's a delightful sound that I will miss when we move. Thank you for the great mental picture. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou described my life as a kid. I could even tell time by the trains at night. They would come through every 30 minutes. If I was having trouble sleeping, I would listen for the whistles and not feel so alone. I still love the sound of a train whistle...
ReplyDeleteTrain sounds--full of wonderment. I like them, and they take me back to good memories, too. I may listen more closely now. Thanks for a reminder of the little things in life!
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to realize you can't go wrong writing about trains. :) Love the way you captured the sound in this little slice.
ReplyDeleteRuth