Patricia Athenian

Once, during a blue moon, Whalehead King ventured to the Athens of America during a drear, winter month. He took Amtrak from New London’s Union Station. Mr. King is a man who has taken many journeys by train. As someone who eschews the use of a car, he is used to public transportation. Listen well: Cars Are Coffins. When he lived in Fairfield County, Conn., Mr. King took Metro North both to New York but to New Haven and points between. There is always a party swinging within walking distance of a Metro North station.

Whalehead King has taken the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn in Frankfurt-am-Main. He has taken the Metropolitana in bella Napoli. He took a funiculare up to Vomero. Funiculare is the Italian word for ‘funicular railroad.’ Mr. King once took the Bullet Train from Edo to Shokoku in less time than it took him to read the New London Day. He has ridden all New York City’s subway in their long, rubber band loops.

Amtrak is a nice train. It is not efficient and it is as often overcrowded as it is not. It is comfortable and the conductors are very friendly. One conductor is our very own Pat Athenian of New London, Conn. Pat Athenian was taking tickets when she noticed Whalehead King sitting in a window seat, ticket in hand. She asked where he was headed and wished him a nice trip. Later on, she brought some other conductors to meet their celebrity guest. Everyone was cordial. Our hero got a complimentary four ounces of coffee.

When the train pulled into South Station, Mr. King thanked the train crew and encouraged his fellow passengers to offer a round of applause. After Mr. King disembarked from Amtrak, he made his way through the station and hopped onto the T. That is what they call trains in The Land of the Cod and the Bean. T stands for Transit.