Jul. 10th, 2007 06:27 pm
Cheap thrills
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muckefuckLast night, a thunderstorm blew through right about quitting time, so I hung around the office doing nothing much until I was absolutely sure it had passed over. Just in case, though, I decided to head for someplace nearby, which is how I ended up eating torikatsu from the Koreans on Clark. On the way over, I could see that the clouds had cleared near the northwest horizon and the light from the setting sun was streaming out. It gave me a pang knowing that I would be inside the restaurant at the moment when the effect would be peaking instead of waiting for the train. You see, given the flatness of this area, the el platforms are one of the only easily-accessible places to get any kind of a view. Several times, I've gotten off at Berwyn just to watch the sun set over the woody, low-rise confines of Lakewood-Balmoral.
Happily, I was wrong about the timing and there was still sunlight visible when I reached the Davis station; it was especially beautiful reflected in the light of the glass-covered skyscrapers to the south of me. At Howard, I had to change trains as usual. Gazing northwards into the railyard where the next southbound HoDaR would emerge, I was struck by an inspiration: From the pedestrian bridge connecting the northbound and southbound platforms my view to the northwest would be almost unimpeded.
It was sprinkling a bit when I reached the top, but nothing I couldn't easily ignore. As lovely as watching the undersides of the clouds turn purple and red was watching the sparks from the trains as they passed over the wet tracks; some of the flares on the section just below me were particularly spectacular. I let two trains past south before I decided I'd reached the point of diminishing returns and climbed back down.
So far, tonight has been almost a rerun of last night. Storms around 5 p.m., but quickly tailing off. I can see golden light through the trees due north of here, suggesting that--once again--there's a rent right around where the sun is setting. This time, I may make it down to Berwyn in time to watch the display, else I'll stop at Howard again.
Happily, I was wrong about the timing and there was still sunlight visible when I reached the Davis station; it was especially beautiful reflected in the light of the glass-covered skyscrapers to the south of me. At Howard, I had to change trains as usual. Gazing northwards into the railyard where the next southbound HoDaR would emerge, I was struck by an inspiration: From the pedestrian bridge connecting the northbound and southbound platforms my view to the northwest would be almost unimpeded.
It was sprinkling a bit when I reached the top, but nothing I couldn't easily ignore. As lovely as watching the undersides of the clouds turn purple and red was watching the sparks from the trains as they passed over the wet tracks; some of the flares on the section just below me were particularly spectacular. I let two trains past south before I decided I'd reached the point of diminishing returns and climbed back down.
So far, tonight has been almost a rerun of last night. Storms around 5 p.m., but quickly tailing off. I can see golden light through the trees due north of here, suggesting that--once again--there's a rent right around where the sun is setting. This time, I may make it down to Berwyn in time to watch the display, else I'll stop at Howard again.