Back when I still lived on my own in 2007, I would frequently ride the train. Or go to the train station planning to go on a train somewhere but melt down once at the platform. Then, people would often call the police.
I shared my experiences of riding the train, or wanting to do so, as an autistic and blind person on a public transportation users forum in 2008. I shared pretty much every little detail up till my crisis on November 2, which happened at a train station too. The person who had asked me to share, then pointed out that it might be a little TMI, but that’s how I am.
This piece was written for the Six Sentence Story blog hop, for which the prompt this week is “Train”.
A Multitude of Musings 
We’re glad that’s in the past for you.
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Thank you. I’m glad about it too.
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Past is a country you don’t need to visit.
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That’s so true. Thank you for stopping by.
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I’m very sorry you had those experiences and that additional challenges make day to day harder. But it’s good that you are able to reflect on it with gained insight and in a more positive way. 👍
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Thanks for saying that. Yes, it was hard back when I had to live on my own. Thankfully, that’s far in the past.
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Knowing how much I rely on my vision to get around I don’t think I’d be able to even get to the train station if I were blind. Best wishes.
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Thank you for your sympathetic comment. You would probably figure out a way if you had to, like I did with living on my own. I was mostly merely surviving, but that was enough at the time.
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Hey! Astrid!
I enjoyed your Six in a way that you will find with many of the others here, where the liberties if fiction permit us to share, (even if only to ourselves, by virtue of the medium) parts of our lives.
There are things we might be surprised to find ourselfs, as Readers, identifying with.
Good Six!
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Thank you. Just to clarify however, this isn’t fiction.
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I did get that sense, all the more powerful a SIx
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Oh okay, thank you so much. I got a little confused, thinking our sixes were supposed to be fiction.
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not necessarily…you’re doin just fine,
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Oh, thanks for the reassurance.
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Train stations can be scary places without complications. And look at you now. Write on.
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Thank you so much and I agree. I cannot ride the train independently anymore, but that’s okay.
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It sounds like it was a very difficult time for you.
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It was. Thankfully, I can let this rest in the past now, even though the memories still haunt me.
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Hi Astrid! Glad you wrote a Six this week 😀
Sharing personal experiences, even with a little tmi, can be helpful to others in similar circumstances. One of the positives of the internet is the availability to tap into a forum or discussion on almost any topic.
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Thank you. I agree. The person who had asked me to share, a train staff at the station in the city I lived on my own in, had intended to ask me about riding the train as a blind person. He was unaware of my autism or psychiatric issues and, if he’d seen me in a meltdown at the station back in 2007, he wouldn’t have known I was the same person (this was back in the days of avatars, before actual profile pics). He probably was a little shocked to read such a sad story, but I really didn’t mind.
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Brave of you to share as much as you did, Astrid.
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Thank you for saying that! 🙂
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Only a pleasure!
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I had a therapeutic experience at Glasgow central, when I split up with my second husband. Train stations have some magic – me thinks! 😊
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So true. Thank you for sharing that experience.
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