Next, I boarded the rail car and met Ken. Ken had a long salt and pepper beard, wore glasses with warm looking yet well worn clothing of the salt of the earth variety. He wore a neck brace which drew my attention to him as I scanned from the rail platform trying to decide which door to enter the couch from in the first place. He was speaking in a very familiar manner to a rough looking man who I assumed to be a friend of his. They sat across the aisle from one another so I squeezed into the seat behind Ken and we all sat up at the front in the north bound direction.
To make myself interesting, I begun to take pictures out the window at the crowed lined up to catch the Sounder train up to Seattle for the Seahawk's game. Sure enough, Ken turned sideways and asked me what I was doing? I struck up a conversation and told him I was taking pictures for my blog journal. I asked him if I could take a picture of him and he willingly obliged and posed a great smile.
We started talking in earnest and I asked him how he had spent the last week out in this weather. He shared much. He said he was getting tired of the cold, but having a few beers every few hours and riding the light rail all day was keeping him "warm and comfy". I asked what happened to his neck. He said he had a sprained neck and contusions over 65 percent of his body. Apparently the previous day, he had been challenged by a group of 18 - 23 year olds to go inner tubing down one of our very steep snowy hills we have around here. Know Ken looks like he is deep into his 50's and not a specimen of fitness either.
He had taken them up on the dare and found his way down a steep road, spinning out of control with feet dangling at a high rate of speed as he described the experience. He eventually was bounced up into the air and was stopped by the grill of an oncoming truck trying to make it up that Hill. The driver of the truck stopped to check on him and well, Ken earned a trip to the emergency room. As he put it, the nurses were nice and the doctor was pretty funny. He got a warm bed and a good meal out f it he said. He would be riding the rails for the rest of the day however since his camp and tent had been snowed in when he went to go check on it after he was discharged.
By this time I had reached the Convention Center Station said my good byes and Merry Christmas and prepared to hoped off. Ken and his buddy wished me well and told me to keep it real... I sure hope I can Ken old buddy, but please, stay off the inner tubes, that's like me going skiing.
Posts
