In the early 90s, while living in Santa Ana, I traveled by train twice, once to see Mom and another time to visit Grandma Bob’s brother in New York.

The trip to visit Uncle Joe in New York was exciting. It would take three days to get there, and I could relax, listen to music, and read, all while seeing America. I was super excited but a little nervous about traveling to New York on my own.

The train left Los Angeles at night, and I had two seats. In them, I had my storage case of CDs, headphones, a pillow, a duffle bag of clothes, and a book. During the trip, I was so paranoid that someone would take my stuff while I slept, so I tucked it around me to secure it. After a few hours and dinner, I tried to sleep, but it was not easy. I managed to sleep some while in my seat.

We stopped in Flagstaff, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, Dodge City, and Topeka, KS, the next few days before making our way to Chicago. Most of the stops, I got off to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. I spent a lot of time in the viewing car, with all the windows, and I could put on my music and read. I didn’t chit-chat with anyone but the employees, and as the trip went along, I slept a little more each night, but still, it was not great.

As we approached Chicago, we were told we were behind schedule and would be put up in a hotel for the night to catch the next train early in the morning. I thought how cool I could explore Chicago and see what it was like, but I didn’t because I feared getting mugged and losing everything I had. So we took the bus to the hotel, and I went to my room. I called Mom and let her know what the plan was. Then, I showered and noticed on the bed that they had a massage option where you put in quarters, and the bed would massage you. I thought this would be great, so I turned on the TV, put in my dollar, and was out. I only woke up seven hours later because the front desk called and said the van would be here in thirty minutes to bring us back to the train station. I don’t know if it was the exhaustion or the massage, but I felt great.

Once back on board, we were twenty hours away from New York and could not wait to see the big city. GB told me that Uncle Jim lived in Chappaqua and that after I got off the train, I could call him, and he would drive down and pick me up.

Once we pulled into Penn Station, I started to think about how brutal New York is with all the muggings and such. I thought, man, I am an easy target with my duffle bags, CDs, and pillows, so I tried to push everything into the duffle bag as best I could. I knew I should not carry my wallet in my backpack, so I hid it so I would not get pickpocketed when I arrived. Once off the train, I headed to find a phone and went to grab my wallet, but it was gone! I had been in New York less than fifteen minutes, and my wallet was gone. I called Mom and asked what I should do; she said she could wire me some money, and my mind was racing: how could this have happened? About five minutes later, I remembered I had hidden my wallet under the bottom plate of the duffle bag. Ok, I am good now. I called Uncle Joe, and he was going to head out, so as I waited out front, I realized this was not the best part of town and headed back in until he arrived. I had never met Uncle Joe or his wife, so I had no idea who I was looking for; I was just looking for a car description.

We found each other, and all I remember about New York was that cars were constantly honking for no reason. The light was red, and they were honking. Once in Chappaqua, I was shown this cute house and given a bedroom in the attic, and I sat down and chatted for a while.

Chappaqua was founded by a group of Quakers in the 1730s and was the home of Horace Greeley, New-York Tribune editor and U.S. congressman. He now names Chappaqua’s high school. Uncle Joe drove me around town and explained the history of the area and about life with GB.

I could only stay two days as I only had a week off, and the train delay cost me a day, so I flew back to Los Angeles and went to work the next day. I really wish I had more time to explore the history of my mom’s side of the family and learn from Uncle Job, but life moves quickly, and I have to make it on my own in LA.