For weeks, I had been telling my friends how excited I was to spend a few days on a train to nowhere (well, Portland) so that I could spend time working on a script for a video series that I want to produce in the coming year. I had always been interested in spending part of a week on Amtrak, with no particular plans other than to be focused, to be inspired, and hopefully to be productive. I like trains! And given that I wasn’t teaching in late June, and my kids were going to be with their grandparents in Texas, it was a good time to do it.
After many hours looking at all different combinations of train routes and hotel rooms, I settled on a plan that looked reasonable to me: I would spend 18 hours on the Amtrak Coast Starlight north from San Jose, and stay with my cousin Jes in Portland. After 24 hours there, I would head halfway down to the beautiful town of Dunsmuir, CA and stay with my friends Blake and Stacy. 24 hours there, then another 9 hours at night back to San Jose. In all, about three and a half days of writing-focused travel time, no hotel costs, and time with some friends in a couple different cites. And Blue Star Donuts.
The funny thing to me is that I started to feel very anxious approximately five hours before I left San Jose. “I’m not going to be productive, and the train will be late everywhere, and I won’t be able to sleep. And what if this is an indulgent waste of money?” (about $260 roundtrip). After having served on a jury for exactly three and a half days earlier in June, was I *trying* to bookend my month with two equal stretches of staring out into the distance*? So I went into the trip a little worried about signing myself up for something that I shouldn’t have. Maybe I should have just stayed home and worked, I thought.
*I actually enjoyed jury duty.
My fears were unfounded. It was a great three and a half days. I was indeed focused, inspired, and productive. Would I do it again soon? Not sure. But I’m glad I did it this time.
Let’s get the worst thing out of the way: the sleep on the train was so, so bad. I was in a standard seat–I didn’t want to spring for a sleeper because they were just too expensive. And I knew what I was signing up for. But while the regular seats reclined pretty well (like airline business class from the 90s, I’m told), it was too hard for me to sleep for any stretch longer than 30 minutes. Not comfortable enough, not enough white noise (I was like “oh right, many people snore”), a lot of train jostling…and even though I was prepared with a blanket, pillow, and headphones, I just don’t sleep well in general, so that’s on me. Plenty of people seemed to be getting in a good six to eight hours, One man was sleeping upside down…so there’s that! I think I got in about five hours combined on my two nights on the train.
I know you’re not supposed to take pictures of people like this. But the man was sleeping upside down. What do you want me to do.
And here’s what else I was right about: the train was late everywhere. But wasn’t that the point? I wasn’t taking this trip to be on time, I was doing it for the travel time itself. So, being late really didn’t matter too much, though I did feel bad for Blake who had to pick me up an hour late in Dunsmuir at 1:25 am.
But my fears of being unproductive didn’t materialize, and in that way the trip was a great success Borat voice. I can’t really quantify how much I worked, because I spent a lot of time thinking, and a lot of time going in and out of writing. But I filled up a good portion of my notebook, and I feel like I had some big creative breakthroughs as well.
I wanted to be focused, inspired, and productive. That was the three-part goal. And it worked out:
I was focused in large part because I knew what the purpose of the trip was, and I kept that in my mind at all times. Sure, I spent some time on my phone, eating with friends, talking with strangers–I can’t work 24/7. But I worked in my train seat, in the observation car, with my cousin, in a Portland coffeeshop, on the tram and bus to see my friend Kim, and at the beautiful offices of Pusher in Dunsmuir (thanks Bryce, Drew, and Stacy!). Lots of writing in lots of places because it was always on my mind.
Inspiration came from every angle. The scenery on the train was incredible, especially from the observation car. The movement of the train itself was quite peaceful (except for sleeping). I met some very interesting people from all walks of life in the shared areas of the train, and they asked me what I was doing, and they inspired some ideas in me. And other simple activities were inspiring, just because the project was on my mind. Eating Blue Star Donuts, going for a run on the Sacramento River, playing Friday Night Trivia at The Wheelhouse*, watching a couple episodes of Parks & Rec…they all inspired ideas that could be in the final version of this project.
*yeah, we won Friday Night Trivia, it’s not a big deal so I won’t even mention it except right here where I am definitely mentioning it.
So, the ultimate purpose of Writing on the Train to Nowhere was to make lots of positive progress on this project, and I did. And I also got to see friends, meet new people, and see some beautiful things along the way.
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About the project: I’m writing a miniseries about modern life in the Coptic Church in the United States, told through the eyes of a young priest who is tasked with shepherding a new congregation in his first year as a clergy member. I’m planning to film and produce this over the next 16 months. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of help, and I’m excited for the process.
11 years ago, I made a 90-minute documentary about Coptic American culture called Out of Egypt. I wanted to show people our culture, and document it for future generations. But most importantly, I wanted to give Coptic Americans and their families a way to start conversations about non-dogmatic, yet meaningful, topics. I was so pleased every time a non-Egyptian emailed me with something to the effect of: “I’m joining the church by marriage, and your documentary really helped ease my uncertainty about the culture.”
I heard a lot of criticism and doubt during the making of that project, especially from people who were wary about how the church would be portrayed. I think there’s the assumption from some Copts that if it’s not church-sanctioned, it’s going to be a hit piece. Well, in my case, they were very wrong. It also wasn’t a puff piece either. My job was to reflect reality and I feel that I did it pretty well.
In this case, I’m not making a documentary, but this scripted miniseries is still supposed to reflect reality. Frankly, there is not a lot of modern art about the Coptic church (and thanks for letting me call this art). I would say that there is a lot of Coptic *media* out there–videos and audio and bulletin boards and texts that are produced to help people understand dogma, to explain spiritual concepts, and/or to glorify God. That’s important stuff.
But while we have many conversations about topics and issues surrounding the culture of the Coptic communities in the United States, it’s not something we take seriously as a site for creative expression. You’ll see people joke around about Parking Lot Syndrome and Egyptian Takeover and choir practice and fasting hacks, but I don’t see it reflected and dissected in any sort of Coptic media. And that’s what I want to do. Because these may seem like frivolous topics, but they’re not, because they explain how we live and why we live the way we do.
I’m going to need a lot of help on this project. It’s going to take a lot of work, whether it’s acting, assisting, marketing…really anything you want to be involved in. If you’re at all interested, please let me know on twitter or by emailing me at my full name at gmail.
And if you just wanted to stay updated, you can join the email list here.
Thanks. Your friend, Andrew.
