Riding the Rails in 2010

Ok, do I have to admit that the last time I took a long train trip was back in the 60s? Back when everyone on the train seemed to have an exciting place to go and the good health needed to get them there? Wow.......... was this an eye-opening adventure this go-round!

There were four parts to this trip for me. First was the ride from New Mexico to southern California, which took approximately 16 hours including delays. On this part of the journey I was alone, seated next to a young woman who has been on her particular cancer drug for the better part of five years. It has blown her body up about 40 pounds from her normal weight. She needs two canes to be able to walk around. She was on her way to visit relatives who were all dying from cancer, and she knew it would be the last time she would see them. Seated within hearing distance of us were approximately 16 other people. Most of them shared their horror stories about what their doctor was currently 'making' them take for their ailments. They were all giving thanks that they had health insurance to cover their drug needs.

Once I arrived in southern California I had the opportunity to spend time with some family and friends for two days before heading out on the next portion of the trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The rains over the past month turned the coast into a magnificent green filled with breathtakingly lush scenery, both on the coastal and inland sides. My dad and sister were with me on this 11.5 hour trip. Seated in front of my sister and me were another set of sisters, around the same age as the two of us. They were both suffering from cancer and severe forms of debilitating arthritis. Across from them were a couple with their health problems which they openly discussed with most of the passengers - cancer and diabetes. They brought food with them on the train -- prepackaged crackers and cheeses, sweet rolls, candy bars, beef jerky, and some sandwiches prepared with white bread and lunch meats.

My dad and sister and I spent time in Oakland and San Francisco with cousins we hadn't seen in years, and some whom we hadn't even met until this past weekend. We had a great visit and took some wonderful hikes through wooded parks and trails in Oakland hills. When we all got together for a big brunch, it included oranges, apples, grapes, numerous salads, fish, omelettes filled with fresh organic vegetables and spices, fresh-baked whole-grain bread and a poppyseed cake. I can't remember the rest, but there wasn't much that wasn't healthful there. Almost everyone present wanted to take a long walk after the brunch to work off the big meal. Only one of the group was overweight, and he is almost 91 years old. One friend of my cousin stopped by and explained that his wife (in her early 60s) wasn't able to make it because her hips hurt so much she could barely walk. He was thanking God for his health insurance that he and his wife rely on for everything they need -- and they both are on several medications that they swear by [she takes 12 for her 'conditions.'] My knees went weak when he told me his insurance with Kaiser didn't even include dental, and he pays $700 per month each for him and his wife for standard insurance. Yeah, that adds up to $1,400 per month for insurance. No wonder everyone feels they have to visit their doctors so their insurance payments don't go to waste.

OMG, is everyone being insured that they'll need this insurance by having it? What ever happened to the concept of creating health assurance by taking care of your health?

Ok, onward and back to Los Angeles region............ we returned from Oakland, CA after three wonderful days with extended family. Another train, another group of woe-is-me passengers, a few more delays and another 14 hours. Across from my sister and me once again were another couple of sisters; one who proudly told everyone who would listen that she is a spokesperson for a pharmaceutical company and is famous since she has made commercials for them for YouTube. She claims she's still alive because she takes the drug. Her sister, younger by about 10 years, is simply suffering from obesity (as is the self-proclaimed famous drug promoter), and must use a walker to get around for her severe arthritis (in her early 40s). They brought along their own foods -- candy bars, canned sodas, prepackaged junk foods galore, footlong sandwiches filled with lunch meats, and these were called their 'health foods.' Behind us was a woman who was in her mid-fifties, weighing in around 500 pounds (she took up most of both seats). However, a man in ill health grabbed what he thought was the last seat next to her, not caring that his sister, who could barely walk with severely swollen knees [in stage-4 cancer], had nowhere to sit in our coach. They had just come back from saying goodbye to their younger sister who was dying from cancer and they expected by the time they reached their destination to hear she had passed.

One more day spent in Orange County, CA and I boarded the train back to New Mexico for another 14 hours. This time a family of 12 boarded with me in the coach where I rode and they brought with them a great grandma, a grandpa and his wife, their two daughters, one with a husband and two children of her own, and some nieces. Lovely family. Healthy, no. Diabetes, obesity, allergies, severe rheumatoid arthritis - they had it all. And what did they eat? Sweet rolls, candy bars, sodas, coffee with artificial sweeteners (Equal & Sweet & Low). Those of you in the know DO know that when you eat empty, artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Equal or Sweet & Low that you are bound to gain weight, right? If you don't know about that, and believe these products help you lose weight, think again. Do your research. It's one of the typical cons put out by the greedy companies that care not one iota about your health, but definitely about the bottom $$$ line.

If ever I wondered if we are truly what we eat, drink and what drugs we take, I don't have to wonder any more after riding the rails for 4 days. But look around you at the deterioration of our health and our society. You don't need to be riding the rails to see it.