Tom's Diary

11:15 AM: I’m up. 

11:17 AM: [Emmy] called just now to say that she’ll be leaving for the train in about an hour.  She”ll arrive here at Altoona, at 3:49 PM.

12:45 PM: Categorized a few more posts.

01:00 PM: We’re currently in the thralls of an ice storm — a smooth, clear sheet of ice now covers the ramp, sidewalks, and any other exposed surface, and it’s quite slippery.  Temperature: 30 degrees at present.  I just salted the ramp.  So it’s not so bad now.  But apparently Pittsburgh is experiencing the same thing; [Emmy] has been unable to get a taxi to the train station so far.  So, unless the train is late pulling out, she’s not going to get there on time; she’ll have to come tomorrow morning instead; weather permitting.    

01:25 PM: [Emmy] just called to say that she just barely made the train; apparently the cab driver had to escort her into the station hurriedly.  So, she’s on her way here now.  Nephew Garrett will drive me up to get her in an hour or so.

01:40 PM: [Mom] just left for sister Mary Ann’s birthday party for her daughter.  Not sure if Garrett, [Emmy] and I will get down there; Garrett says he’ll go if the weather gets better.  But so far, it’s not looking good.

03:10 PM: [Emmy]‘s   train is running approximately a half-hour late at present. 

03:15 PM: Nephew Garrett just arrived to go to pick up [Emmy].  Well, he’s going to have a little bit of a wait, because the train is not even to Johnstown yet.  He says though, that the roads aren’t too bad.  So we may get to also attend Mary Ann’s party later.

04:00 PM: [Emmy]‘s  train left Johnstown sometime within the past twenty minutes or so.  She was sleeping when they actually stopped there, and so did not call me immediately.  So, we’re leaving for the train station in about ten minutes. 

06:25 PM: We’re home.  Just walked in the door.  After we picked up  [Emmy],   we shopped at Wal Mart   and dined at Cici’s.  Putting the groceries away now.

06:30 PM: It turns out that   [Emmy]   left her cell phone on the train.  We’ve called Amtrak to ask them to keep a lookout for it.  But I doubt we’ll get it back.  We’ve deactivated it on Verizon’s web site and verified that it is indeed disconnected, by calling it — we get a recording now.  She’s due for an upgrade anyway, so whenever we next get to Altoona, we’ll go phone shopping and get her fixed up.

06:40 PM: Groceries are put away and we’re taking a nap.

09:00 PM: I’m up again, although [Emmy] will likely sleep a while longer since she was up all night last night preparing for her trip here.   

09:15 PM: Mom just got back from Mary Ann’s.  Jojo put the star on our Christmas tree prior to leaving, and Mom is now adding decorations to our mantal. 

11:15 PM: Categorized some more posts for the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  Now, there are just 467 posts left to process.

11:20 PM: Posted the daily list of post revisions I made today to this, the   Tom’s Diary   blog.  Click   here   to see it.  This list now incorporates more friendly-looking links; something that   [Emmy]  requested, and which made good sense to implement.  Click   here   for more details about this new format.

02:10 AM: [Emmy]   and I just hung out with Mom while she tweaked the tree decorations for a more symmetrical effect.  But now, we’re headed to bed.  Catch eveyone later today.  Take care.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Garrett’s Computer Problem
• Mom’s Status: 2009-12-13
• Post Revisions: 2009-12-13
• Recent Revisions Page Project
• Shopping Trip: 2009-12-13

Dear [Emmy],

All is well here today.

Sorry to hear about the bus confusions. Yes, when I lived in Pittsburgh, those drivers would sometimes leave me off at the wrong stop, which could sometimes be miles away from where I was supposed to be. Welcome to the world of public transportation.  

We have about two inches of snow here, and some additional accumulation is coming tonight. Just what we need to bolster holiday spirits.

I love wiring and electricity and appliances and gadgets. Needless to say that when the home computer came along in the early eighties, I was thrilled to death.

Yes, I enjoyed last weekend as well. In fact, one of the women in our writers group got off the same train that we put you on Sunday. She was in a hurry to get out of there, and I was in a hurry to get you onto the train and then get back off before it pulled away. So we didn’t chat at the terminal. She mentioned seeing the two of us up there on Tuesday night at our monthly meeting. She said that you looked, “pretty friendly.” I told her that she was right. You are that and more.

So far, I don’t know if I’ll be coming to visit or not this month. I may wait until January when it gets really boring around here.

Talk to you later.

Tom Hesley

04:15 PM: Heading to Altoona to catch train #43 to Pittsburgh for this weekend’s   WPSBC Alumni Association   fun day tomorrow.  I’ll return home the day after tomorrow (Sunday).  The train ticket cost $12.75 each way. 

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2011-01-27

Thanks, [Tad]. It appears like the state reps aren’t going to budge unless ridership goes up, a lot! Perhaps the high fuel prices of late will help the railroad.

Well, NS and Amtrak are conducting a study, to determine how to share that east-west line most efficiently. There does need to be work done. I’ve been on that run, when we get stuck behind a Norfolk freight train, and our schedule was delayed several hours. In the letter from Jubelirer, he makes reference to this problem and sites these delays are one big reason people don’t want to ride “The Three Rivers” or “Pennsylvanian” routes. I must concede that they’re right on this. Hopefully, the study will reveal ways to get these delays out of the system. The whole sad things is that up until the mid 80s, there used to be four tracks on this route. But they tore out one of them, and now there are only three. If that forth track were still there, these delays might not be nearly as bad as they’ve become in recent years.

Tom

Friends,

I got this response from Jubelirer’s office, one of our local representatives here in PA. Looks like one way out of this is to somehow get significantly more people to ride Amtrak in the New York to Chicago run. So, ride ride ride !!!

Tom Hesley

—–Original Message—–
From: Luckenbill, Emily [mailto:eluckenbill@pasen.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 3:43 PM
To: pulse@prosaic-expressions.com
Subject: RE: Please Support Continued Amtrak Funding

Dear Mr. Hesley:

Thank you for sharing your concern about Amtrak’s decision to reduce train service to Altoona.

I have heard from several other people whose travel has been affected by Amtrak’s recent announcement to eliminate one of the two trains serving our area. Amtrak cited pressure brought on by reduced federal subsidies as a reason to lower costs by eliminating some less-traveled routes.

Prior to the change in service, PennDOT did investigate making up the shortfall in federal subsidy. However, PennDOT found that despite an increase in ridership in the last year, $2.5 million or nearly $167 for each of the 15,000 riders would be required to keep the service in effect. By comparison, the PennDOT subsidy on other runs is roughly $15 per passenger.

The high subsidies are hard to justify when there is such strong competition for transportation dollars.

Clearly, increasing the number of riders would bring down the needed government subsidy. One of the significant challenges to building ridership is developing reliable and timely rail service. However, because Norfolk Southern owns the track that Amtrak runs on, there are conflicts between freight and passenger service.

In order to get a better understanding of what it would take to improve track conditions, to reduce travel times, and get a closer look at freight and passenger conflicts, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are cooperating in a study of the corridor. The study, which I pushed for, is nearing completion.

We understand that there are people who depend on rail service. Although no one wants to see reduction in service, the subsidy levels to sustain operations were difficult to defend. Efforts are continuing to look at ways to build ridership and reduce the level of government funding needed to sustain operations.

I trust this information is helpful. Should you have further questions about this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,

ROBERT C. JUBELIRER
SENATOR, 30TH DISTRICT

RCJ/jel

Emily J. Luckenbill
Secretary to Senator Robert C. Jubelirer
292 Main Capitol Building
717.787.5490
eluckenbill@pasen.gov

—–Original Message—–
From: Thomas J. Hesley [mailto:pulse@prosaic-expressions.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 9:51 PM
To: Jubelirer, Robert
Subject: Please Support Continued Amtrak Funding

Mr. Jubelirer:

I am a vision-impaired man, living in Altoona, PA. I do not see well enough to drive a car, and so, I rely heavily on Amtrak trains to transport me to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to see friends and conduct business. The recent loss of Amtrak’s “Three Rivers” route impacts me as well as some fifteen blind folks living in PA that I know personally.

I urge you to ensure that full Amtrak funding for the next fiscal year is maintained, not cut. I believe as a nation, we have a duty to preserving our inter-city transportation infrastructure, though it might not be profitable on paper. My friends and me need the American rail system to be expanded, not reduced. Please do what you can to bring this to fruition.

Thanks,
Tom Hesley – Prosaic Expressions

Mr. McCain:

I am a vision-impaired man, living in Altoona, PA. I do not see well enough to drive a car, and so, I rely heavily on Amtrak trains to transport me to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to see friends and conduct business. The recent loss of Amtrak’s “Three Rivers” route impacts me as well as some fifteen blind folks living in PA.

I urge you to ensure that full Amtrak funding for the next fiscal year is maintained, not cut. I believe as a nation, we have a duty to preserving our inter-city transportation infrastructure, though it might not be profitable on paper. My friends and me need the American rail system to be expanded, not reduced. Please do what you can to bring this to fruition.

Thanks,
Tom Hesley – Prosaic Expressions

Dear   [Vanna],

Good deal. Thanks for the reply.

Not sure if they have a Para Transit-like outfit here in Altoona. I will look into it. However, if it is anything like the one in Philly, I would not be eligible. They ask you all kinds of questions like: Can you walk to a bus stop? How far can you walk? One block? Two blocks? Four blocks? Then, they want to know if you would be willing to take mobility training so you could learn to ride a bus. Well, in Philly, I could easily ride buses, so in good conscience, I could not submit the Para Transit application there. Several friends suggested that I exaggerate and downplay the truth, and I could get in. But, this just isn’t my style. So, while in Philly, I rode the buses and taxis.

However, the situation might be different here in Altoona, as there are no buses that come near here. Closest one is probably about 8 miles away. Yes, under normal circumstances, organizations like Access, only serve the same areas that the buses go. But perhaps I might be able to pursuade them, with my puppy-dog eyes, to work with me. Who knows?

There are aspects of the big city that I’ll miss. For sure. But it’s so much quieter here in rural USA, that I don’t think I’ll miss Philly for long. Besides, it’s a quick 5-hour train ride from here. So, if I really get to feeling blue, I can always go back for a visit. And I usually time my visits with the Overbrook alumni activities. So, perhaps I’ll see you at one of these.

By the way, have you been in touch with [Tad]? He’s working at WPSBC now, in case you didn’t know.

Well, gotta get going. Take care, stay healthy. And I’ll talk with you again soon.

Tom

Dear   [Vanna],

Good morning.

Yes, I did get home for the holidays. More precisely, I moved home to Altoona, from Philly. Long story.

But Altoona is not as accessible as Philly was. Nonetheless, I plan on living here for several years. So I could probably take some lessons from you, on how you cope in an area without buses, or at least, very few buses. I’ve gotten pretty good at entertaining myself at home so traveling is less necessary. Also, I’ve gotten better at asking others to drive me, when I must travel. It would be fun to talk about this issue at length sometime.

Happy New Year to you also.

Talk to you soon.

Tom

Dear Dean

Yes, very neat that we’ve re established communications. I miss those afternoon bus rides on the 60.

Here in Philly, I ride the 58, 14, 67, 20, and 66 among others. There are 132 different bus routes here and during the business day, there are approximately 1500 buses on the road. Wow.

Tom Hesley

Dear   [DD],

Good morning.

No, no bus. Apparently, they had worked around the clock in Lewistown, to fix the damaged lines. Either that, or they routed us around that area, although I can’t honestly say if we stopped there or not. I don’t remember. It was very dark, and I made a new friend. She’s a federal prosecutor from DC, and we talked for the whole five-hour journey from Philly to Altoona. We were probably conversing when Lewistown passed by.

I might be in your area in the coming months to visit her. We’ve talked a couple times on the phone and got along very well. But, time will tell.

Nothing voluntarily complimentary was offered by Amtrack for the delays, although I heard several people say that they were going to ask for trip vouchers as payment for their inconvenience. Not sure if I will or not. Probably not.

It was fun seeing you too, although I was a bit disappointed that I did not give you another massage. I really enjoyed doing that when we last met in 1999. These days though, I’m much more into doing the foot and leg massages, although I still do the neck and shoulder ones upon request.

Well, I think that’s it for now. Hope the new year graces you with continued good health and success.

Take care.

Tom