Taking the night train home from a party in once city when you live in another city can turn out to be a total drag. May or may not give you a chance to sleep, will most certainly provide some drunken cries and laughs to prevent you from just sleeping, and may result in you finally falling asleep and miss your stop. After a nice night out in Rotterdam, the late train to Utrecht does not promise a lot of entertainment on beforehand.
Two factors turned out to change this however. One; the two couples of Aussies/Kiwis sitting in the middle of the car, with no intention whatsoever of getting any sleep. Two; the guy in the tuxedo carrying his cello, sitting opposite to the two couples. As if it wasn’t obvious enough, a guy from the merry group of tourists ask him if he plays. Turns out his name is Elias from Morocco or something, and that he plays the cello in an upscale hotel or restaurant or something.
In any event, Elias politely turns down the request to entertain the car with a solo. He is tired. The Aussies are however determined that there will be music tonight, so they start to sing. They as me, who is sitting behind them, if I can sing. Even if I could, I don’t think the people who are trying to get some sleep would appreciate very much. As a musician, Elias finally caves in, takes out his cello, and starts to play. The Aussies request some Beatles or Creedence. Elias claims he doesn’t know any Beatles or Creedence songs. So he plays Stand By Me. The crowd - in this case the passengers - soon fall in in the song, and before long the whole car is singing along. “When the night, has come, and the land is dark…”.
The train finally comes in to Amsterdam Central Station, and the crowd splits up. Elias packs his cello and moves on to the next gig. The Aussies pass by me on the way out, with the words “You could have been a star…” (would I have taken tone before the rest of the crowd). As if…Well, a train trip to remember. There will be more train rides, guess I can sleep on the next one…
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