A Serendipitous Taxi Ride from Oban to Glasgow
0r...always check the Scottish Train Timetable before buying tickets
“How do you create?”, asked our taxi driver/tour guide as he drove us through the Highlands from Oban to Glasgow. “What is your process? How do you start? What’s your go to way to get going?” “Well, a deadline helps!” laughed the painter in her southern accent from the back seat of the van. We all laughed with her, we all could relate…the young woman from London, the painter, the guide and myself…as we continued to easily bond, to effortlessly bond, to spontaneously bond…as we traveled from Oban to Glasgow on that grey September afternoon.
So here I am, back home in Pennsylvania, trying to put into words the experience we four shared that rainy, gloomy day in the Highlands. I’m going to try to do it justice because it was one of those singular experiences that one remembers and marvels at.
No, it wasn’t life changing, but it was life affirming. We were strangers to each other, from different backgrounds and life experiences, different occupations, had different reasons for being in the Oban train station at noon on September 1st, but we all shared…what….
…willingness to be open to new experiences?
…friendliness?
…sense of curiosity?
…ability to listen and empathize?
…enjoyment of learning about others and their life stories?
…comfortableness…if that’s a word…with being “in the moment”…instantaneously? (lol…you know what I mean)
…the ability to welcome new people into our lives-if just for a few hours-and to enjoy being with them?
…needing to get to Glasgow before 7:00 pm dammit? And why the HELL did Scotrail sell us all tickets for a 12:11 train to Glasgow that DID NOT FRIKKIN EXIST?
Or was it just a serendipitous few hours out of our lives? Was it just the Universe saying…”OK…Scotrail fucked up and ya’ll need to get somewhere this evening so I’m gonna send an angel in the form of a tour guide/taxi driver/composer to get you where you need to go(for a small fee)?
Don’t know. Don’t care. I shared a serendipitous taxi ride from Oban to Glasgow with 3 of the loveliest people I’ve ever met. I will smile forever when I remember that ride. I may never see any of them again, but it was a special day, a day that started out disastrously but ended with hugs and smiles.
So now that I’ve piqued your interest…and I know you want to know about the sailing trip…no, we didn’t make it to St. Kilda . BUT I WILL, DAMMIT! On to the story of the Taxi Ride.
I left the sailboat from Rubicon 3 at 9:00 AM on August 30th. Made it to the Royal Hotel in Oban and sat in the bar knitting while they got my room ready. Lovely place. I showered, slept and wandered around then met my friend from the Shetland trip of 2023 for lunch the next day. Wonderful day. I got up on the 1st of September, had breakfast, showered, packed , checked out and walked the 100 feet to the train station to check on the time. There was no 12:11 train to Glasgow. Hadn’t been for two months. Shit. Next train? 4 pm. Shit…that meant I’d get to Queen Street Station in Glasgow at 7PM. Not what I wanted! Then I’d have to get the bus to The Holiday Inn Express at Glasgow Airport (you can walk to the terminal…nice hotel) and…NOOOOOO!
THERE WAS NO 12:11 TRAIN FROM OBAN TO GLASGOW…BUT WE HAD TICKETS FOR THAT TRAIN!!!
By the way, I was flying from Glasgow to Pittsburgh on September 2nd…
Since it’s a small train station I looked around and there was a woman sitting in the waiting seats…so I don’t remember how it happened but we spoke and I clocked that she had some sort of southern accent from America…so we chatted and expressed mutual frustration about the damn train. OK…then a young woman came in…same problem…both women needed to get to London that night. All of us had tickets for the nonexistent train. The 4PM train would not get them to London that night…they be stranded in Glasgow. Fuck.
The young woman had a doctor’s appointment and the Southern woman had a job to get to.
We checked the bus. Full. The Southern woman and I agreed somehow(mutual humanity)that if there was a seat on the bus that the young woman could have it because she had a doctor’s appointment.
Listen, it’s what normal humans would do! I think for women it’s more so…we do try to watch out for younger women..right? Anyway, we were there for about 30 minutes, shared some details and names and groused our frustrations at the damn ScotRail. I still want to see about being reimbursed for my ticket for the train THAT NEVER WAS.
Are you seeing what’s happening here? Three women, from different backgrounds, cultures, everything…but all open to helping each other…that was the start.
There we were in a train station in Oban, Scotland…far from home…the young woman had come up on her own to see Staffa, Skye…the Southern woman had come over from her home on Mull to get to London for a job…and I’d been on a sailboat for two weeks and was ready to get home…and all of our plans for that day were upset. So we settled in to wait for the bus to at least get the young woman to her appointment and hoping there would be three seats….when in walked…
….To be continued.