I recently finished a great book, or what I hope will be a great book. It’s the book I wrote, one week at a time. That’s right, my publisher sent me a draft of the book ‘Observations at the Speed of Life’ to review the page layouts in advance of cover design. 

So even though I wrote and read every one of the 68 Weblogs included in the book, I never read them ‘cover to cover’ all at once. It’s how I used my train time this week. 

I really enjoyed reading the soon-to-be-book and hope you will too. The stories selected range from personal, to theoretical to humorous, and ‘everything in between.’ 

It is the kind of book you can read on a train, read in bed, read in a library, or read on a computer.  It is a collection of stories. You can read them in Chapter order, or randomly, or using some other strategy. They range from 1000 words to 2200 words, and most have a photo included that appeared in the original Weblog. 

I'm hoping the editing process is complete in time for holiday gift giving. And for what it’s worth, my goal is to personally autograph all of the non-eBook versions. 

Once the book is published, there will be a podcast, a YouTube something, a Barnes and Noble something and more. I may do a book tour of my own favorite places, like Loretta’s Last Call, the Umass Club, and the 122 Diner. Stay tuned.

Trying to lead an interesting life takes effort, and some financial investment. Recently as part of the quest to keep our lives interesting, my son, Joe, and I took a quick 30-hour trip to New York City to see his favorite country music star, Deana Carter. 

We knew there would be surprises, and hoped they would be pleasant. We also knew there would be obstacles, and hoped we could overcome them. We just didn't know when or where.

It turned out to be a well-planned trip that required some agile decision making, some luck and some friends to make it a success. What follows is the mental scoreboard I was keeping during the trip, where I was definitely rooting for the Pleasant Surprise team to win in a blowout.

Let me start the story by sharing the fact that traveling in a wheelchair is not as simple as it looks. Being the companion of someone in a wheelchair is also not as simple as it seems. Traveling in a wheelchair and being the companion of someone in a wheelchair when it is raining hard is, as you might have guessed, even less simple.

Since we have no control over the weather, particularly this year, we set off on a dreary Monday morning rainstorm and headed to the Amtrak Station in Providence, Rhode Island, about an hour from our house. 

Some have asked, ‘why the train?’ and my answer is simple: of all the cities and all the states I’ve driven in, New York City is my least favorite place to drive. Being from Boston and knowing how to be aggressive on the streets, as well as having skill with hand gestures, you might think I would relish weaving in and out of Yankees and Jets fans, but no. I don’t like the vibe.

I snagged a pair of round-trip train tickets for a ridiculously low price, about the price of parking for one night in the city, and we arrived at the Providence station. We were directed to lower-level parking. 

Obstacle #1: At the Providence Amtrak Station, we couldn’t find a handicapped space, but parked anyway, unloaded the wheelchair, the occupant of the wheelchair, our luggage and went to the ‘Out of Order’ elevator.

Score: Obstacles 1, Pleasant Surprises 0.

Stressful, since the train was scheduled to depart in about 15 minutes. I couldn’t drag luggage and push a wheelchair at the same time up the three long parking ramps to the surface. (Although I can walk and chew gum at the same time, this was more than I could chew.)

I loaded my son, the wheelchair and the luggage back into the car, raced to the exit and pulled up to the front door of the station and unloaded everything again, and set off to re-park the car. Very stressful thought that we might miss the train rolling around in my head.

Pleasant Surprise #1: Before I could turn around and head back down to the garage, a Handicapped Parking Space miraculously appeared about 30 yards from the front door of the station. I double checked all the signage on both sides. It was legit. I parked, ran back, got everyone and everything inside. 

I went to the counter, shared my story and our need for help, and the person behind the glass stunned me when he said: "we’ve been waiting for you." 

Pleasant Surprise #2: A ‘Red Cap’ promptly brought us down to the platform, carefully placed a bridge to the train over the gap next to the platform, and we navigated our way into a space in coach that was bigger than most spaces in first class. The accessible space had small cards that said ‘Reserved’ on them. This was Joe’s first Amtrak ride and we both liked the vibe of ‘being taken care of.’

Score: Pleasant Surprises 2, Obstacles 1.

The train ride to New York was fairly uneventful. We arrived at Penn Station, where my best friend from high school, also named Joe, was scheduled to meet us to go to lunch. He was also an usher in my wedding, and we played ice hockey and soccer in high school, and he was in 80% of my classes, so we knew each other well. He owns a construction business in Manhattan and has operated there for more than forty years, so he knows the city well. There is no greater comfort in a strange place than having a guide who knows the place like the back of his, or her hand.

Pleasant Surprise #3: Joe brought his 20-something daughter, Hannah, to join us for lunch and she provided much-needed technical expertise when we needed to have an Uber WAV pick us up somewhere near Penn Station (expertise as in: I just gave her my phone and she handled it.) 

Pleasant Surprise #4: I had researched the Uber WAV service and learned that they were plentiful in New York City. WAV stands for Wheelchair Access Vehicle. My son rolled right up into the back of the car, stayed comfortable in his chair and we were off to a French Restaurant in a very 'in' section of the West Side called Pastis. 

My friend was not only familiar with the restaurant and food, but also built one of the locations so we felt like real insiders.

Pleasant Surprise #5: His daughter, Hannah, also served as our luggage concierge, since pushing a wheelchair and dragging luggage over ten or twenty blocks of New York sidewalks is a "walking and chewing gum at the same time" activity that is better with help.

Score: Pleasant Surprises 5, Obstacles 1.

My number one unasked question as we headed into the French restaurant, was actually ‘do they serve French fries?’ but I was afraid I would be viewed as snarky if it asked. 

Pleasant Surprise #6: They did, and they were famous for them. We sat around for one of those long lunches people have who don’t see each other very often. Eating great sandwiches and lots of French fries. Lots of French fries. We did some catching up, as guys who have known each other for more than 50 years do.

Pleasant Surprise #7: We went up to the High Line, an abandoned 2-mile elevated railroad trestle above the streets that the city green-scaped and beautified. 

We just wandered around for an hour, learning the history of the area, and the changes that had made it such a cool part of Manhattan.

Obstacle #2: there was a little bit of rain every now and then. Not enough to keep us inside, but just enough to tone down the excitement. We had ponchos we didn't need. Joe brought an umbrella and shielded us when necessary.

After several hours with Joe and Hannah, walking and talking and telling stories and getting acquainted or reacquainted, we said our goodbyes and expressed our appreciation. We headed up to our hotel room to get changed and cleaned up for the show that night. I cannot share how much we paid for the room, but let me just say, I have rented apartments for less per month than this oversized linen closet cost me for a single night. 

Pleasant Surprise #8: The train was a bargain, I didn't have to pay for parking, and the show tickets were reasonable. The hotel room, although expensive, was very accessible and comfortable, with floor to ceiling windows looking out on the Hudson River (and New Jersey).

Score: Pleasant Surprises 8, Obstacles 2.

When it was time to leave for the show at the City Winery about six blocks away, the rain had changed its attitude and was now pelting down, sometimes raining laterally due to the wind. 

Obstacle #3: Yes, we had ponchos to cover us. No, they didn’t withstand the wind as well as we hoped. We arrived at the venue about 90 minutes before the show, but also pretty wet. I wouldn’t say we were technically ‘soaked’ but we also weren’t going to dry out in 15 minutes either.

Pleasant Surprise #9: When the doors opened, we were seated at a table only feet from the stage. Sweet. Although I had made the reservations, we were still closer than I expected. We snacked on the tasty, not inexpensive, small plates and waited for the show. 

Pleasant Surprise #10: About 15 minutes prior to showtime, we spotted ‘Cowboy,’ a longtime friend of Deana, who manages her tours, but more importantly, he spotted us. 

Pleasant Surprise #11: We were backstage with Deana and her husband Jim, catching up. We happened to be in a large ‘closet area’ with mop buckets and mops, and had to retake a photo so that mops weren’t prominent. (Cowboy and Deana in this photo with Joe).

You see, my son has been following her since 1996. What does following her mean?

• He has seen her perform almost two dozen times in Nashville, Maine, Maryland, and now New York.
• He has had her autograph a t-shirt each time they have met, and she did it again that night.
• He presents her with a collage of photos of each time he has met with her before or after a show.

She sometimes refers to Joe as the man she has had the longest relationship with. That’s what ‘following her’ means.

Score: Pleasant Surprises 11, Obstacles 3.

Pleasant Surprise #12: At the start of the show, Deana mentioned Joe, thanked him for coming, shared the collage, and started the show. (Deana and her husband/great guitar player Jim)

Pleasant Surprise #13: The show was great, and the rain had stopped so we were dry on the way back to the hotel.

Pleasant Surprise #14: The Uber WAV experience back to Penn Station the next morning was just as smooth, and the Red Cap service from Amtrak got us on the train with no stress.

Pleasant Surprise 15: We had the same comfortable reserved space on the way home.

Pleasant Surprise 16: My car was where I left it.

Final Score: Pleasant Surprises 16, Obstacles 2.

Another once in a lifetime experience in the books, filled with new knowledge, great memories and pleasant surprises.