Right now, I am doing what I would always be doing on an average Sunday night – sitting at my computer and typing a column while drinking a beer. The only difference is that this time – I am doing it at over eighty miles an hour.

Instead of being at home – I am on an Amtrak train on the way to Baltimore, Maryland to see Julie – and even though I am not even there yet – I am already having a great time on the train itself.

Truth be told, I have, for all of my life, made fun of Amtrak. I used to always say that the word “Amtrak” was Latin for “Derail” – due to the fact that there have been so many derailments, accidents and deaths aboard Amtrak trains. I also used to wonder why people would even bother to take trains across this great nation of ours – when planes would get them wherever they were going so much quicker. And worse – I vowed that I would rather kill myself than sit on a train for a few hours, because it is bad enough that I have to endure the glorious New York City subway system – and I’ll be damned if I am going to get on a train voluntarily to go out of state rather than take an airplane…

…but right now, as the states are whizzing by me as I type this column in a snack car full of friendly people as I enjoy drinking a cold one – I take back everything I said in the past about Amtrak and very humbly apologize to them – because this is one of the coolest things I have ever done.

I have traveled many places outside my home state in my life either by car or plane – but never by “The Iron Horse.” Why would I? I mean, I have written several columns, endured dozens of confrontations – and have compiled hundreds of stories about my daily encounters with the glorious New York City subway system – so why on Earth would I take a train to a vacation destination on purpose when I could drive or fly?

How naive of me.

As I sit here putting my thoughts to paper as I pass through (at the moment that I am typing this) Trenton, New Jersey, while I smell the smells of the snack car while at the same time hearing the overlapping conversations of my fellow snack car passengers – I can’t help but think of the days of old when this was the only way to travel – because the automobile or airplane were not even a thought yet. I can imagine sitting here in a smoke-filled car (which is the one and only thing that is wrong with this trip) with nothing to distract you from your lengthily journey but the scenery flying by outside your window. I could see how impromptu friendships, poker games – and drinking buddies could appear out of thin air due to the fact that back then – there were no laptops, cell phones or Blackberry devices to keep someone distracted.

In fact, twenty minutes before my stop, I am now sitting with Brian, Dan and Guy talking to them about their upcoming movie, “A Free Radical,” which features a technique that they have invented called “D’Fermata.” They tell me that it’s a 21st Century story telling technique that revives the ancient tradition of speaking through the dark. It slows down time, they say, with no images, only words. After a half-hour of talking through beers and fast cigarettes at each stop, they have graciously invited me to the wrap party in Washington, D.C. later this fall – or as they say – when the wind begins to really blow cold – and I can promise you that I will be there.

Thanks to this train trip, I can now finally understand why every chance a person from back then got to travel on the train – they would jump at the chance…

…and why from now on – I will too.