Imagination

There is a smell to fog that I like. It’s damp and I can’t help but think that it smells fertile. Perhaps it is the water, water that helps things grow, helps keep us fed, and encourages the grass and trees to grow. The fertility of fog works with my imagination also. I can’t help but imagine on foggy mornings. I drive and walk on familiar streets but they all look different, they transform into places I’ve never been to before and the buildings into places I’ve never seen. Reality fades and I wonder what could I be missing.

    Some say that a writer shouldn’t start a story with “the weather.” Yet I find that almost everything I do has been determined by the weather. Should I wear a jacket or take an umbrella? Do I need anything more than a t-shirt?

    Sunny during the afternoon, I might be raking the leaves, trimming the hedges or cutting the grass. Raining outside, I might decide to settle in with a good book. Clear at night and I could be watching the stars or waiting for a satellite to pass overhead. Foggy in the morning, chances are that I’ll be out looking for pictures. Weather determines quite a lot!

    Waking up this morning and looking out of my bedroom window, all I could see was white. Even the trees closest to the house were nothing more than slightly darker shapes in the clouds. I was expecting it, when I went to bed I could see the fog gathering in the valley below the house. I set my camera gear in the hallway.

    I washed up and brushed my teeth and quickly got dressed. I was behind the wheel of the car by 6:30 and driving through the mists.

    The fog dissipated a bit as I drove down into the valley. Crossing the 62^nd Street Bridge (The One-minute Bridge) I was once again driving through a white out. Nearing Pittsburgh, driving through Lawrenceville it started to clear up a little more. The day was brightening and I was able to see a bit further now.

    In the Strip District, the city stood out in the morning sunshine, no signs of fog lingered near-by. I parked and took my camera gear up to the railroad tracks. It was a little after 7 and the Amtrak Pennsylvanian would be leaving the station at 7:30. I originally thought it would be nice to get a picture of it coming through the fog but that was not to be this morning. Still, since I was here, I may as well take another picture of it leaving the city.

    I started setting up, choosing my position, f stop and exposure. I heard a short blast of the train whistle and could see the light of the engine getting brighter. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was only 7:15, it was leaving early?

    As the train neared me, I could see that it wasn’t the engine I was expecting. I saw that there were two engines and a lot more cars behind it than normal. This wasn’t the train I had been waiting for! I later found out it was the Amtrak Floridian which normally stops in Pittsburgh around 5AM. It must’ve been running late today. I watched it as it continued on its way to Florida.

    I walked down the road beside the tracks, trying to see into the station’s train shed, attempting to see if the Pennsylvanian was still at the station. I could just see it; “my train” was still sitting there. I heard another toot and the light brightened; it was leaving the station. Looking at my watch, it was 7:30, right on time. This time it was the engine I was expecting. The Pennsylvanian was starting its trip to Harrisburg and New York City.

    After it passed, I walked back to the car. The Strip District was getting ready for another Saturday morning. Retailers were setting up their tables to display their wares. Trucks were unloading produce and merchandise to be sold to the weekend visitors. I returned home, curious to see how my pictures looked. As I drove back into the suburbs, the fog thickened again.

    I stopped and took a couple final pictures and then headed up the hill to my home. My coffee machine was patiently waiting for me to fill it with coffee grinds and water and then, I could return from my imaginary world, back to reality and get on with the rest of the day.