Theme 3: Transportation

This summer David and I went to Promontory Point on our way to Michigan.  We saw the place where the Transcontinental Railroad came together, opening the United States up to rapid travel from sea to shining sea it had recently taken in their war(s) with Mexico.  It hit me particularly because my students and I had studied wagon travel extensively, had followed Lewis and Clark and then the ill-fated Donner Party across the treacherous American landscape.  And then bam!  Suddenly you could take the same journey in a matter of days, on cushioned seats, with warm dining car food!  I know we talk about our current age as the technological age, but I can't think about many things that have had so profound an impact on our lives as transportation.

Susan and I are probably acutely aware of transportation as we both live far from our families and dearest friends and both have, until recently, maintained relationships over miles and oceans.

I have met few people who don't love to travel, but most people also complain about transportation (especially in this 'post-9/11' world everyone keeps talking about).  But transportation can be an escape in itself.  Sometimes I like the trip separately from the journey.  Being on a plane, or a train, or a long car ride, or even a bicycle ride can take us out of the every day movement of things.  There is also a certain beauty in the mechanics of these things (refer to the Steampunk aesthetic).

So this week's theme is transportation.  Take it as you will.