A Jim Jarmusch like moment in Panama: A storied moment on the train tracks

As I whizzed on by in the car in a town north of Panama City, Panama, I looked out the window towards the train tracks.  Trains as a mode of transportation have a historical sentimentality in the United States’ consciousness and as well in the world’s.   There is a hypnotic mysterious allure to trains and their tracks. They offer a unique sense of freedom and daring. They offer ways to see  areas, neighborhoods and vast lands  that are not necessarily readily accessible by roads and cars. Train tracks have a siren-like call that beckon you to them.

As I turned to train tracks I saw a couple out on the tracks. She was dressed in a goth-like black dress and he was in casual jeans. For that split second I was reminded of Jarmusch’s movie “Mystery Train.”  She was positioned in the middle of the track with her hands and arms raised with a wide stance while he stood readily poised to take a photograph.

They were in their storied moment and I was an observer moving 45 miles per hour. This was my split-second story standing still while I whizzed on by. The allure of the tracks is forever in our hearts.