Alabama, Trackside

Time is always intriguing to me, especially when I come upon places such as this. We all talk about a sense of time and place. I often wish I had a time machine at my disposal. I like to ponder what I would see if I had a magic camera, one that would pierce time and allow me to see in its viewfinder the scene before me -fifty, one hundred, or more years before or hence. I think it gives one a right-sized sense of self-perception and significance.

I found this train station alongside ancient tracks in rural Alabama, in the middle of nowhere. I don't know its age, but I suspect it pre-dates the era of long-haul trucking and Greyhound buses. In my magic viewfinder, I like to see who would be coming, who would be going. I want to imagine their stories, what was important to them, their dreams and hardships, what they contributed to their time, and who they would be if they lived in my era. Who would I be if I lived in theirs?