So, late last night I got an automated call from Amtrak.
My train for tonight is canceled. (I found out this morning a freight had a hazmat derailment in Arkansas)
I tried to talk to an agent on the phone but either it was too late in the evening or everyone was busy for a long time.
I handed the phone off to my mom to listen if someone came on the line (and she inadvertently hung up) while I used her iPad to remake a reservation for Tuesday.
Then this morning I called and got the cancelled trip refunded.
Well, about 20 minutes ago I got a call: that trip is cancelled. With the agent’s help I rescheduled for Thursday but who knows? Supposedly there’s a track hold because of the hazmat thing but who knows if it’ll be cleared or if now flooding is a problem. The annoying thing is that Amtrak will not be providing alternative transportation south of St. Louis, so I would be on my own to get from St Louis to Mineola: too far to rent a car and drive, with Greyhound (which can be a nightmare for a solo woman traveling) I’d have to get from Tyler or Longview to my car in Mineola.
I wouldn’t worry but I was scheduled to fill the pulpit on June 2, so I really need to be back. (I am also worried about my houseplants on waterers).
The other thing that trips what you might call “anxiety paredolia” is that this happened in 2019 a couple months before my dad died -I was up here for extra days because of cancellations- and while intellectually I know that there’s no possible link, and mom mom’s health is still quite robust, still, emotionally, it makes me uncomfortable (I am not ready to be an “adult orphan,” nor deal with the paperwork that will fall partly on me)
It’s also a worry of “how do I get home if the train isn’t running again?
No comments:
Post a Comment