April 23, 2003

Free Rider

In the old Soviet Union there was a law that granted you a lifetime of free railroad rides if you happened to be born on a train. When I was five, I used to give my mother hell for not having run to the nearest station when her water broke.

Bits of useless memories like this one usually lie buried underneath the facts of the new, incompatible life. Sometimes they surface without any warning or reason. I wonder if that law is still in place. I doubt it.

Posted by Alex at April 23, 2003 07:34 AM
Comments

Oh, I have nothing intelligent to say, but ? having enjoyed the long haul sway and clatter of trains in the Soviet era, chugging over endless landscape - beauty for the images this evokes. And what a sweet proviso.

Posted by: Gail Armstrong at April 23, 2003 05:44 PM

That would be possibly the coolest birthday gift ever.

Posted by: Sarah at April 23, 2003 05:53 PM

What if you're born in a bookstore? Or a pub?

Posted by: Mig at April 24, 2003 06:32 AM

... Or a bomb factory. I know.

Posted by: Alex at April 24, 2003 06:48 AM

I was born in a crossfire hurricane. Ever since, the weather has been absolutely miserable.

Posted by: Eeksy-Peeksy at April 24, 2003 11:03 AM