Burgers.

So, I'm in Greensburg.

I took the train last Monday, which left at 1:40 and arrived at 7:00. Long. Train travel is not fast. It is, however, very relaxing. Before catching the train I barely made, I stopped in the bookstore to pick up a copy of "Catcher in the Rye," since I've never read it. It was on my to-do list. Anyway, I got about 75 percent through it.

The trip was grey and cold; it began pouring freezing rain. Something profound about a cup of coffee, a book, and a half-empty train, while the heavens cry. It rained worse when we passed through Johnstown, which is the most depressing city I've ever been to in my life. A year ago, my ex and I found ourselves exporling the city during a similarily rainy, cold day. We had just escaped a cop who caught us speeding on the turnpike---we took a quick exit, and disappeared into the crowds of cars exiting the road, and decided to continue that way, until we found ourselves at Johnstown. Boring, cold, dying, wet, the town was a corpse, buried at the absolute bottom of a valley. I have never seen the city when it wasn't raining. Never. Even when I was very young, homeschooled, when we took a four-day vacation/field trip to Johnstown. It rained every day we were there.

I was thoroughly depressed by this point, when the sun snuck in for just a moment. I noticed that only the very nicest of places look good in the rain; everything else becomes miserable. But when the sun shines like it does in the deepest point of the afternoon of a blue-skied day, then everything, no matter how desolate or decayed it is, looks... good. Not good... comfortable.

I mention decay because countless homes I passed on our way to the city were the tiny-town, middle-of-no-where hillbilly homes with like, ten cars in the parking lot, none of which look to have ever actually worked. The houses have backyards filled with random piles of mutated merry-go-rounds, rocking horses, and giant undefinable pieces of plywood and metal. All of these houses look like they might have looked nice, once, a long time ago. But instead, it's all decaying and dead. I simply cannot imagine what sort of people live in them, why they live there, or what they do inside when no one's looking.

The sun lasted just five minutes. Greensburg is almost as depressing as Johnstown. I returned to reading.

On the train, is an always interesting variety of passangers. In my car was a loud black woman that announced at the top of her lungs to everyone when she was going to the bathroom, and, when there, for 'none o' ya'lls open this door while I'm here!" In the cafe-car, there was an artist, drawing some very complicated pieces with a ruler. I wanted to talk to him, but he was absorbed in his work, and his iPod.

Speaking of which, everyone on the train has the nicest technology imaginable. Like, the absolute best laptops ever. I mean, everyone had them. I was the only one without one. Even the loud black woman had one. Hmm. To-do: Get a laptop.

So, I arrive in Greensburg, where T. is waiting to pick me up with his "ruby in the rough"; that is, a Geo Prism. Apparently, three dudes came out, and surrounded his car while he waiting for my train to show up. Then they left. I dunno. They came, and surrounded his car, and left. I have no idea what to say about that.

Anyway, we go pick up a pizza. 6.99 for a large one-topping Mondays at the Pizza Hut right next to the apartment. Eat that. Drink liquid ambrosia, (which is also called Mountain Dew).

So, J.'s already at the apartment. W. comes over: Now there's four of us. We don't do much right away, just shoot the air, and terrorists on J.'s PS2, in 'Black.' There is a case of Lager in the fridge, which we wisely decide is not enough. So, we're thinking liquer, and I suggest a place across the street--it's closed at 7, we're 20 minutes late. So, we decide to get some '40's, and do so, then go back to apartment, down them.

So, T. basically hates J., which is a sourse of tension. W. doesn't normally, but he's Irish. By that, I mean he likes to fight when angry, and gets angry when drunk. Well, not always, but this time he did. So, we're sitting there, finishing our 40's, and I happen to enjoy a cigarette while I drink---they just go together. I mean, I'm a very light smoker, (a pack a month, at most) but at that moment, I just really wanted a cigarette. They're game, so we try to figure out who should drive, but we're all drunk. So, T., who hadn't had anything to drink, says he'll do it. So, he drives us.

I buy Newports, which pisses W. off for some reason. So, he's angry, walking ahead of us. Anyway, J. says to me, kinda quietly, "Why's he so pissed over cigarette's?"

W. whirls around, takes off his coat, and says, "Say something about me one more time." Again, louder. "Say something about me one more time!"

They get close, W. pushes J.. J. returns with a left hook. They begin to brawl. I instantly think, damn it, we're drunk, this is bad. Trouble. T, watching from a bit away, is told that someone called the cops. Anyway, I try to break them up, until the fight naturally ends. T. drives W back, while I walk back with J. We smoke.

So, in like five minutes they make up, no hard feelings, nothing personal, just an excuse to fight. Everyone's loose, no more tension, and the decision is made to do it again.

Tonight, I fight J. (Details to follow.)

Also, I've said nothing about today. It's in my next post.