“Kiss the Train” by Sun-60 was a song I loved in college. Using big markers, I made a big poster with those simple words and hung it over my desk at USC.
KISS THE TRAIN
I was 20. Endless possibilities. All routes open. Those words pretty much summed up how I wanted to live. I would KISS this beautifully fast life.
Little did I know some people are so far off the tracks and want to take other people with them.
The horrific shooting in Las Vegas has crushed me. For the first time in my news career, I’m watching from the sidelines now. It’s a safe place to cry and ask God to comfort these families, these young people who will never be the same.
When I finished my broadcast journalism degree, I had a video resume complete with three feature stories; the hazards of high heels, oddly shaped buildings that look like what they sell, and feral pigs loose in a park. Fun stuff.
On graduation day, as I was walking across the stage to receive my diploma, my dad said to my mother, “She has no idea what’s going to happen to her.”
He was right. I didn’t know.
I had no clue about the horrors of real life. The stories I would have to cover. Honestly, I wish I still didn’t know. Sometimes innocent people get caught in the crossfire whether it’s rounds or words. The pain is searing and awful.
You can take a moment to breathe/blog, but don’t stop on that track. Don’t hit the brakes and stop living the life you want.
Stuff your backpack full of some rockin’ rose-colored glasses, your favorite tunes, and a journal full of love notes.
That’s what I’m doing. Kiss the Train.
Take a listen on iTunes:
“Everybody says that a girl like me should never, never dream so much
Put a penny down on the Northbound track
I say I’m going to kiss that train.”
– Joan Jones Sun-60
