Chamblee54

One night in 1980, Mark and I took some acid. Later, we got some beer. After that was gone, we scraped together what money we had, and got another six pack. We were in the woods behind the Caldwell Village Apartments, where Post Brookhaven is today. In those pre-Marta days, the entire section had easy access to the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.
A freight train stopped on the tracks. An empty boxcar was open. Mark and I got in the boxcar, and Mark said he was going to ride in it. I did not want to, but I did not want to leave Mark by himself. Then the boxcar started to move. It was a grand ride, over the trestle at Peachtree Creek, and on into the city. One empty beer bottle after another went out the open door.
The next thing I remember, a man was shaking me awake. He said that he was sorry that I lost my glasses, that he knew they cost a lot of money. He led us out of the boxcar toward a Ford LTD. He made sure I saw the pistol, in a holster on his belt. He took a blanket, and spread it out over the back seat of the LTD.
We were in a rail yard just west of downtown. I was able to manage the bus ride back to civilization without my glasses. Neither Mark nor I said a word the entire time.
Twenty five years later, I was walking up to Lowes, on Peachtree Industrial. A freight train was sitting on the tracks. I was too lazy to walk to the overpass, and decided to climb on the train. The plan was to cross the tracks. While I was on the back on the train, it started to move. While the train was still going slow, I jumped off. I managed to not get hurt. I have not been on a freight train since then. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.