Some people need to do things two or three times before deciding they are never going to do it again.
For me, it took one train ride, and I knew I was done.
My mom and I were told that although it was slower, a train ride was more relaxing than flying or taking a bus. It took twenty-eight hours by train, that took fifteen hours by car. We couldn’t stop whenever we needed to walk, and it was difficult walking on the train when it was moving back and forth. I thought it was going to be more comfortable, but I was wrong. It was so cold that my mother was shivering more than I was. I had to buy blankets to keep her warm, and I had to buy food. They didn’t have coffee or hot tea to keep me warm. I tried to turn off the air conditioning, but it was on, and there was no turning it off. I told the conductor that my mom had heart problems and this wasn’t safe for her, but there was nothing they could do. He said we would be pulling into the station in an hour, where they would be picking up an HVAC technician. He said they should have the air conditioning repaired within an hour after pulling out of the station. I bought two more blankets and wrapped them around my mom while I huddled under my sweater, and moved closer to mom. I couldn’t wait to pull into the station and have the HVAC technician repair the air conditioning.