Travel haikus

AMTRAK travel? Now you are talking :)

I had my experience with AMTRAK during July this year. It is an interesting experience for a foreigner to use AMTRAK.

I travelled from Penn Station to Hartford Ct. Since this train had business class, it was a pleasant experience. The porter on the train was a really nice man.

The next leg of the journey was Hartford to Springfield. The train journey itself was pleasant. However, Springfield was a real dive of a station. The timber on the platform was absolutely rotten and there was insufficient seating at the station. There was also no way to get fresh food whilst we waited for our connection to Albany which was 2 hours late. The train trip to Albany was also quite pleasant and without incident.

The disappointment however was the trip from Albany to Montreal. Despite the fact that I had a wonderful conversation with a really nice young girl, there were some big minuses. Why on earth did AMTRAK not offer either first class or business class on a long journey from Albany to Montreal? It was outrageous to have only the one class. My reaction is due to the fact that there were some individuals who made the journey unpleasant - what they did to the bathroom on the train (multiple bathrooms I might add) defies description. The stench was so bad that I could not help my own reaction (and I hate vomiting). The border crossing was er... um ... interesting.... for even the Canadian who was going home was interrogated along with us Australians and German passengers.... how long are you here? Please show me evidence that you are leaving.... etc. etc.... ah that was AMTRAK east coast.... In their favour was the fact that I could eat food on the train... they provided sandwiches that did not have tomato or cucumber.... yipee!!! From memory we were behind time arriving in Montreal....

Now coming back into the USA for our return journey to Australia we travelled on the AMTRAK west coast. The food choices were not so good. The train ended up behind time and we arrived about 2 hours late in Seattle.... which meant waiting for a taxi with a great swag of other passengers whilst the taxis needed to pick up people pouring out of the baseball stadium at the same time... and on the hottest day on record in Seattle... ah what fun.... the next stage was just as much fun... the airconditioning broke down in the car where we spent most of our time... making it very hot..... the bed was not as comfortable as the one on the Canadian train. The food was not as good with the staff not able to cope with the idea that people had special needs in regard to food... pity the celiacs because AMTRAK cannot cater for their specific needs.

Ah yes.... a road less frazzled indeed.... but it was still a lot of fun.

Five. Seven. Five. Check.
Snarky commentary. Check.
Cafe Hayeku.

A gift of humor,
Imitation remains a
Sincere flattery.

"Cafe Hayeku"
I noticed you posted
After posting mine.

That portmanteau showed
in a previous reply.
Please follow this link.

I believe he meant
He had posted his haiku
Before he saw yours

You are correct, sir.
My humble apologies
Go to Bosco H.

In silence we write
Hayekus for this Cafe
Great mimes think alike.

Like all great orders
This haiku meter emerged.
Nonplussed? Sure not Russ!

Guiding from top down,
You can't outsmart free people.
The Fatal Conceit.

The new Trickle Down
means that when the rich get soaked
the poor still get wet.

The new Trickle Down
means that when the rich get soaked
the poor surely drown


Just a little change to improve accuracy :)

Haha! Nice!!

Cap and Trade means jobs?
If prosperity's just a
Stone's throw from windows.

Reid gets to 60.
Buys Senate votes with MY cash?
Illegal for ME.

"Macro explains all?"
It sure can't tell me how to
Build a cheap pencil.

Well that's my favorite one so far. That's great!

I was inspired by the haikus and wanted to try my hand at some. Here goes:


Man, Amtrak is bad
It needs capitalism now
Decentralize it


Bureaucratic junk
Hayek shows us the way out
Markets for me, please


2 4 December
Senate votes on our healthcare
No Merry Christmas


On Christmas Eve Day
US debt ceiling rises
Where is Santa now?


Government bailout
Is for rich bankers only
Not a free market

"2 4 December
Senate votes on our healthcare
No Merry Christmas"

My favourite.

Unspent TARP succeeds?
Borrowed cash bought WHAT again?
Assets in a sling.

Awesome!!! :)

Deficit spending
Isn't a problem for Keynes.
Tomorrow we're dead.

Ike,

These are all awesome.

Thanks... if a few more pop into my head spontaneously, I will share.

(Sounds like the seed for a separate post, where community Haiku emerge...)

I hate Haiku, as a rule, but you're coming up with some really good stuff, Ike.

EconTalk rapping?
Keynes is too demanding for
This cool Hayek-u.

Trust them with health care?
Why not? The government makes
The trains run on time...

I love it!

Amtrak has inspired me to use some creative language in the past, but never anything as calm as a haiku. Lots of f-bombs. Lots.

BTW, that Northeast Corridor is the only profitable Amtrak line. In the mid-90's, the geniuses at Amtrak were convinced they could take a large share of travelers from airlines by replacing the toilets on their trains. Yeah. There's really nothing funnier than a true story, is there?

I love the Acela trains. Twice the price and they hardly travel any faster. Most of the time they gain is due to cutting out intermediary stops, not higher rates of speed.

The road less frazzled?
Icy tracks.
Atlas less shrugg'd
Warm Rearden Metal

That doesn't really make sense but I couldn't resist.

"I felt like I was in a reality TV version of Atlas Shrugged."

Speaking of Atlas Shrugged, it's finally available on the Kindle.

Just FYI for anyone who cares.