you, you're a history in rust

train scene in england
At the Manchester Picadilly station I was waiting for the train with Kate -- the one that would take her back home to Leeds. We weren't particularly sad, although we had regretted that I hadn't traveled to Yorkshire to stay with her for a while. I was a mess: I was about to see My Bloody Valentine play at the Apollo (I didn't know where it was), and I was constantly thinking about Dragana, which was pretty fucked up because Kate and I have had this intensely prolapsed affection for years now that flares whenever we run into each other. I absolutely love Kate's Yorkshire accent, you see, and so I basically melt every time she talks. We have this long running gag about getting married and living in a cottage somewhere in Northern England to write books of poetry (though she claims that she would much rather move to Seattle). We ate potato crisps and split half of a Scotch egg that we bought at a supermarket. I had never before consumed a Scotch egg (she was surprised that I was never introduced to the greasy delights of "proper English junk food"). Suddenly, mid-snack, Kate squealed in hushed tones at a man who briskly walked past her. "Oh my God, it's the guy from 'This is England'!". I chased after the guy and, sure enough, it was Joe Gilgun, the dude who played Woody in the film. He, Kate, and I spent about 15 minutes excitedly chatting it up (he had never before met an American who know who he was), and he was more than happy to say his "signature line" from the film for me in video:

Kate took the train after his, and I didn't kiss her at the train station. I'm tired of having train station goodbyes, you know. People hear these stories and they always dwell on the cinematic romanticism of it. "No!" I want to yell. "No! It's beautiful on film, but it hurts too much in real life!" I am always reminded of that scene in Brief Encounter when Celia Johnson's character nearly rushes off to throw herself in front of a passing train because of a particularly painful train station goodbye. That's pretty much how it feels. I'm not that kind of guy who confidently strolls out of the station, thinking, "Man, I got her under my thumb." No, no, no, I just stare into space and wish I was elsewhere. New goal in life: no more train station goodbyes, more train station hellos.

Advertisement