A view of...what????

 I was going to title this a view from the bridge.  Except we weren't really on the bridge, we were waiting for the Morgan bridge to close so the train could proceed.  I'll never understand why a train, which runs on a schedule (for the most part) would need to wait for a bridge (which has no particular schedule) to open for river traffic then close and maybe if we're lucky lock back in place.  Which is besides the point, at the moment.

Then I considered calling it a view of the bridge - with the human eye, even with my glasses which badly need to be updated, prescription-wise, I could see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge from where we sat - but you really can't see the bridge, in the picture.  Cameras (especially ones in phones) do that, sometimes - totally miss the point.

What you can see in the picture (maybe, with a microscope) is Raritan Bay, with Staten Island to the left (the tree-covered edge on the top left), some kind of tanker either incoming or outgoing (white blotch on the green edge), sitting and waiting for the tide, and someone's modest sailboat (aka a hole in the water into which one pours money, white wedge towards the right of the picture) just hanging out.  The train was a double decker, and I was sitting on the lower deck, where I really don't prefer to sit, but that accounts for the relatively low perspective.

Interesting?  Not particularly.  But the lack of visual stimuli gives one the opportunity or excuse to sleep on the train, which the woman sitting next to me was doing, Kindle on her lap.  Which caused me to start feeling trapped, by this stage of the trip.  Which is not a nice feeling.

Now, just south (or east?) of the Morgan is a wetland, and continuing on an outbound (from NY) heading, one passes into a relatively wooded area with houses and such along the tracks.  As the train came out of the wetland, I saw a youngish looking deer at the side of the tracks, and it ran alongside the train for a while, till we picked up speed and left it behind.  That was pretty neat, and in my opinion, worth staying awake to see.  

ambiguity

I find it annoying when someone can't make up their mind, but this one takes the cake:

The bright colors caught my eye yesterday in Foggy Bottom.  I particularly like the blue, which I can see relates to trust, or is a trust-worthy color.  I don't particularly relate to orange as a color, unless it's included in a palette of fall shades, gold and orange and scarlet and brown, like a stand of trees after a light frost.  But orange representing doubt is new to me.  Considering it is a "hot" color in fashion this year (or so I am told), even more odd (to my way of thinking) it should be associated with doubt.

But the real question is, what is the message here, or is there any message at all?  This is a front yard of one of those cool little townhouses I've always liked, and it is a new installation, it wasn't there last time I was in the neighborhood.  The pavers are new, too.  Nice little courtyard.  Nice to have a place to sit, it's a pretty block, lots of cool little townhouses and lovely gardens with traditional garden gates and such.  If I had piles of money and a reason to live in DC, this is likely a neighborhood I might choose to live in. 

So, back to the question.  If I sit on the blue bench, am I trusting?  What does that say about someone who sits on the orange? 

And the other question.  Why are the benches next to each other?  Reminds me of a waiting room, or a train station.  I would rather see them across from each other, but not too far apart, or better, at right angles to one another, forming an outdoor conversation nook.  That to me would be inviting, in spite of the orange and that word punched out of the backrest.

Then I would also need flowers in ceramic pots, with all different colors there.  And maybe a small table to put your iced tea on while watching the world go by.  And a way to put your feet up after a long day at the rat race.

I'm not too picky, am I?  I doubt it. 

Nonsensicalness

Well, maybe that's not really a word, but it makes a strange sort of sense in this instance.  I've always wondered about a particular sign, which I hope you can read for yourself in the picture:

It's faded from the sun, and of course the picture was taken through the train window on a sunny morning.   It says no trespassing, in English and Spanish. Which on the surface of things is a not so unusual sign to be found in quasi public places.  Except the location makes me wonder what someone was thinking.  The steps that lead to the gate bearing the sign go from the ground in an area where people are basically not allowed to be, to the platform, where one would wind up if one entered through the gate, where people are expected to be.  So I would think the sign ought to be on the opposite side of the gate, warning people on the platform not to leave it, rather than telling folk who might be on the ground not to climb to the platform.  The gate, by the way, appears to be permanently locked. Or maybe rusted in place, by now.  This is the Jersey Shore, where everything rusts.

Just one of the many incompetencies exhibited by NJ Transit on a daily basis.  If I cared, I might find it embarrassing that someone in an official capacity made such a silly mistake.  As it is, I just find it mildly amusing.  There's not very much entertaining about the daily commute, so you have to enjoy the little things.