Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, the KKK, and Divisiveness: A Personal View

I am probably one of the few people who have heard in person part of a Jesse Jackson speech, as well as part of a Ku Klux Klan member's speech.

I heard both at public outdoor gatherings in Lexington, Kentucky, many years ago. The events were on two different dates.

I don’t remember much about either speech. The focus of this article is on one specific incident at each event.

Jesse Jackson apparently felt it would create the wrong impression to accept an umbrella from a white man, me, on a rainy day.

A KKK speaker apparently felt it would create the wrong impression to get water from a black man on a hot day.  

Jesse Jackson

The Jesse Jackson speech took place outdoors at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, many years ago. It was an overcast day, so I had an umbrella with me.

As I recall, Jesse Jackson did not have a microphone. It was difficult for me to hear him at first. I was relatively far back in the crowd. But as he spoke, rain began to fall. Jackson did not have an umbrella, nor do I recall others having one. 

Some of the persons near me stated that they didn’t expect rain, they couldn’t hear Jackson's words, and so they were leaving. Several left. I didn’t open my umbrella, because of the crowd of people.

As Jackson continued to speak, the rain became harder. Many more persons left. I gradually moved forward as empty spaces opened up until I was in the front of the now small group. The rain was almost a downpour now.

I took a step or perhaps a few steps toward Jackson, holding my unopened umbrella out toward him. He shook his head no, so I stopped. Gentlemen on either side of Jesse Jackson, perhaps two on each side, possibly bodyguards, moved closer to him. If I remember correctly, one of those gentlemen said to Jackson something like, "that white man looks suspicious" (indicating me), and asked Jackson if he wanted them to take me out. Jackson replied something like,  "No, he’s just offering me his umbrella."

The man asked Jackson if he wanted him to ask me for my umbrella for Jackson, since I wasn’t using it myself anyway. Jackson replied no. The man asked why not. Jackson stated something like, “They wouldn’t understand,” apparently indicating the remaining persons in attendance, who were mostly black I think. Then Jackson looked at me and said quietly to those gentlemen near him something like, “He’s the real Rainbow Coalition.”

I’m not truly a rainbow coalition. I have inherent biases as do all humans. But I do seek unity and fairness for all, which I think is basically what the Rainbow Coalition under Jackson has strived for.

The term Rainbow Coalition may originally have referred to a 1969 group led by the Black Panthers, as noted by a PBS piece [1] and numerous other sources.  However, in 1983 when Jesse Jackson announced his campaign for the 1984 Presidential election, he used the term rainbow coalition to refer to a diverse group of persons united together for positive change. In 1984 Jackson formally formed the National Rainbow Coalition, which in 1996 merged with Operation PUSH to become the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, as noted by History [2], Rainbow PUSH [3], and numerous other sources.

If my original interpretation at the time of the incident at the Lexington rally decades ago and my current memory of it are correct, the Reverend Jesse Jackson could not accept my umbrella, because many in attendance would have taken offense at the minister accepting an umbrella from a white man.

The 2025 picture below is of an umbrella I own that is similar to the one I had at the Jesse Jackson Rainbow Coalition rally.

I don't think I took any photos at the Jesse Jackson speech, either because I didn't take my camera or because I didn't want to risk getting it wet in the rain.

The Ku Klux Klan

On another date, I attended part of a public outdoor Ku Klux Klan rally in downtown Lexington. The Klan speaker was on the steps of Lexington’s courthouse. That courthouse still exists, but is no longer used for court functions due to construction of new Circuit and District courthouse buildings.

I did not stay for the entire speech. But I remember it was an unusually hot day. If I remember correctly, I was in the shade drinking cool water in lightweight clothing as I listened to part of the speech.

But the speaker was standing on the courthouse steps in the sun. Furthermore, he was wearing KKK garb that was likely hot. He occasionally wiped sweat off with a handkerchief or some other type of cloth. Neither he nor the other Klansmen nearby seemed to have any water. That seemed unusual to me, as hot as it was that day.

I thought he looked at me, then stated to one of those with him that it would be nice if I gave him some water. I started to get up to take him a bottle of water. As I recall, I think I had at least one extra one.

However, as I started to get up holding the water, I heard an inaudible inner voice state something like, “Don’t. If he wants water, we’ve got plenty over here. Make him come down and get it.”

I stopped. I wondered what the voice meant. I looked around and several feet away on my right was a small group of blacks. As I looked at them, I saw a few of them holding bottles of water out toward the speaker, who remained on the courthouse steps.

The speaker looked at them, apparently angry, and did not step down for water. I got the impression that this KKK member felt it inappropriate to step down to accept assistance from black persons.

I probably did not take the picture below at the rally where I heard part of the KKK speech. I'm guessing that I took it at another public KKK gathering where I didn’t stay long enough to hear much of the speech.

The picture below is a digital photo of a print photo I took on October 20, 2001. I only know the date because I wrote it on the back of the original photo.

Closing Thoughts

To me it seemed a sad reflection of our society that a prominent black minister could not accept an umbrella from a white man without persons taking offense. It’s just as sad to me that a KKK speaker was unwilling to step down to accept the offer of water from a black man.

I look forward optimistically to the day when true unity and fairness exist, a time such as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of in his acclaimed “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. He stated, as I quote from NPR’s website [4] though numerous other websites contain the quote: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I’ll close by adding “Amen” to that King quote.

NOTE:

I am not affiliated with either the Rainbow Coalition or the KKK.  

ENDNOTES:

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[1] Santisteban,  Ray; “The First Rainbow Coalition”;  PBS.org; premiered January 27, 2020; webpage accessed August 23, 2025; https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-first-rainbow-coalition/

 [2] Pruitt, Sarah; “How Jesse Jackon’s Rainbow Coalition Championed Diversity”;  History.com; published January 29, 2021, and last updated May 28, 2025; webpage accessed August 23, 2025; https://www.history.com/articles/jesse-jackson-rainbow-coalition

 [3] Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Brief History”; Rainbow PUSH.org; webpage accessed August 23, 2025; https://www.rainbowpush.org/brief-history

 [4] “Read Martin Luther King Jr.s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in its entirety”; NPR.org; updated January 16, 2023; webpage accessed August 23, 2025; https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety

 

Selma March 1965: Memory of Then-Seven-Year-Old White Boy of Television News

 

On March 7, 1965, John Lewis was a leader of marchers across a bridge in Selma, Alabama, on what is sometimes called “Bloody Sunday.” One purpose of the march was to seek voting rights for Blacks. The webpage linked to here is one of many with details about that event.

At the time of that civil rights march, I was a seven-year-old white boy in Kentucky. Below are two photos of me. The left one is from when I was in the first grade. The right one was taken when I was in the second grade. I was six or seven years old in the left one, then seven or eight years old in the right one.

    

I still remember seeing as a young boy television coverage of the beating of marchers. I can’t state for sure that it was this particular march that is embellished in my memory. But I’m pretty sure it was.

Below I discuss my memory of television coverage of police beating these marchers. Please realize that my memory may be faulty after all these years.

Even the quotes in quotation marks below should be considered paraphrases at best. But I think the account below is reasonably accurate:

I was watching some type of television news broadcast with my dad and mom. I don’t remember what broadcast it was or what station or even what day or event. However, my guess is that it was that March 7, 1965, Selma, Alabama, march for voting rights, etc.

On television I saw some Black persons walking or marching. I saw police beating them. It made no sense to me. Mom and dad had taught me that the police were in position to help us, to protect us.

I asked my dad, “Why are the police hitting those people? They don’t seem to be doing anything wrong.”

Dad replied, “They’re not doing what they were told.”

Me: “It looks like they were just walking across that bridge.”

Dad replied, “They were told not to walk across that bridge.”

Me: “Why don’t they want them to walk across it?”

Dad: “I don’t know. I can’t hear the sound with you talking. All I see are the pictures.”

Me: “Why is that man saying, ‘Do not resist?’ "

Dad: “Maybe he figures that if they resist that they’ll get hit harder.”

Me: “It looks like they’re getting hit hard enough as it is. I see a lot of blood.”

Me to mom: “Is this the news or just a movie? It’s just a movie isn’t it? This isn’t really happening or didn’t really happen did it?”

Mom: “I think it’s just a movie. Bill [my dad] this isn’t part of the news is it? This is just a movie, isn’t it?”

Dad: “I guess it’s part of the news. If they switched from the news to a movie, I think they’d have said something about it. I don’t know.”

Millions of persons in the United States and around the world saw video of that march and the beating of the marchers. It is perhaps one of the key events in the civil rights movement. I think people were shocked, millions of persons were shocked.

I was only seven years old then. If my memory of it is accurate, this “incident” is one of the few specific things I remember from that age.

This “incident” in my life helps me in a small way partially appreciate the poem, "Incident," by well-known poet Countee Cullen, that was apparently originally published in 1925 in the poetry colletion, Color. The poem, which is now in the public domain, describes an “incident” in an 8-year-old Black boy’s life. The Lehigh University website is one of many that contain the poem.

Closing Thoughts

I’m glad that society has progressed a long way toward equality in voting, jobs, etc., since that day. However, we aren’t there yet. And there have been missteps along the way.

Indeed, at least in some of the early days of the “equal rights” era, it perhaps became even tougher for Black men to get jobs. The reason? Affirmative action or equal rights programs that applied to benefit Blacks and women led to many companies hiring Black women to meet both obligations, rather than hiring Black men.

As a white adult male, I don’t know what it’s like to be Black. But that “incident” that I saw on television as a seven-year-old, helped in at least a little way. Other things since have too.

I look forward to the day when discrimination and affirmative action both cease. I look forward to the day Martin Luther King, Jr., expressed having a dream about, when he stated his children, “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Perhaps it would be even better if we didn’t judge others at all. Instead, let’s seek to help one another. No matter what fault I might see in another, I hope I will state humbly, that if not for God’s grace, I might possess the same flaw.

As John Bradford is credited as stating, “There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford.” Or as the King James Version of the Bible quotes Jesus as stating in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

Whether rich or poor, black or white, male or female, old or young, liberal or conservative, KKK member or Black Lives Matter member, etc., let’s seek to try to listen to the other person’s viewpoint, seek to gain understanding, and seek to attain fairness.

Winters in Spring: Redbud Winter, Dogwood Winter, Blackberry Winter, and More

I figure it is dogwood winter. My mom, Gwenda Gibson, said that too in a phone conversation yesterday.

This morning, April 22, 2024, the low temperature here in Lexington, Kentucky, was a below normal, cold 31 degrees according to the National Weather Service.[1] 

Spring brings warm weather that contrasts nicely with winter. However, warm weather and cool (cold I'd call it) weather conditions alternate during the first half of spring.

When I was growing up in southeastern Kentucky my mom and others often referred to the cold spells (or "little winters") in spring by names based on plants that were blooming at the time.

I especially remember three different winters in spring. My mom and others discussed redbud winter, dogwood winter, and blackberry winter. Mom said all of these didn’t come every year, but they seemed to most years.

I learned there are other winters in spring. The total is more than seven "little winters."

My online research indicates that these winters of spring are especially known in areas in or near the Appalachian region, places including Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. I didn’t see a reference to such winters on websites in other areas.

Currently I live in central Kentucky, in Lexington, which is not considered part of Appalachia. Nonetheless, Lexington's climate is similar to that of the southeastern Kentucky Appalachian area of my childhood.

Furthermore, many residents of Lexington are originally from southeastern Kentucky and recall growing up there and hearing about the winters of spring.

I wonder if other parts of the U.S. and other countries have similar names for the short winters of spring?

A Fox56 website article[2] discussed five “little winters” in Kentucky. It discusses the three I remember from my childhood, as well as Locust Winter and Linsey-Woolsey Britches Winter. A 2019 WLEX article discusses the same five “little winters” in Kentucky.[3]

A VisitClevelandTN.com webpage discusses what it calls “the six little winters of Tennessee.”[4] It includes the five previously mentioned and adds Whippoorwill Winter for the sixth one. A WKRN website article lists the same “six little winters.”[5]

Some of the winters of spring are better known than others.  A WOWK article[6] discusses what it considers “the three major ones in Appalachia.” These are the three I mentioned earlier that I remember best from my childhood: redbud, dogwood, and blackberry winters.

In yesterday's phone conversation, mom said those three and sarvis winter are the four she remembers best. She told me that her mom (Annie Hunter-Wicker) talked about those four too.

Below I discuss each of these four in chronological order, followed by brief discussions of three other “little winters” of spring.

Sarvis Winter

I only remember learning about sarvis winter in recent phone conversations with mom such as the one yesterday. But she said she and her mom both referred to sarvis winter during her childhood.

Mom told me that it comes in early spring before redbud winter. That's when the sarvis trees feature white blooms. The sarvis tree is more commonly called the serviceberry tree.

Its usually white blossoms typically feature five petals according to various websites. An interesting West Virginia Explorer article[7] states that sarvis tree blooms in Appalachia let “folks know spring has arrived.” An article on The Tomahawk website[8] covers all seven “little winters” I discuss, including sarvis winter.

Redbud Winter

Redbud trees in eastern Kentucky begin looking beautiful with magnificent bright pink buds in late March and early April. A cold period in early April while redbud trees are near their peak of pink color is called redbud winter.

Below are two photos I took of a redbud tree near my apartment building in Lexington, Kentucky. I took them on March 31, 2024 (top one), and April 2, 2023 (bottom one). The black strip at the top of the 2024 photo is part of my apartment building that got into the photo. Oops!

                                    

 

Dogwood Winter

Dogwood trees in eastern Kentucky bloom in mid to late April. The cold spell that typically occurs while dogwood trees bloom in late April, is called dogwood winter. The cold morning today, April 22, 2024, in Lexington, Kentucky, is probably part of dogwood winter.

Below are two photos I took yesterday, April 21, 2024, of a dogwood tree on Parkway Drive in Lexington, Kentucky.

  

Blackberry Winter

Blackberry winter typically comes in early to perhaps mid-May in Kentucky. Mom said it’s usually the first or second week of May. Naturally, it is when blackberry bushes bloom with beautiful, often white, blossoms.

Mom also stated in yesterday's conversation that her mom claimed that if blackberry winter is wet, it will be a wet summer. If blackberry winter is dry, then summer will be dry as well. Do you think that's true?

Locust Winter

The timing of locust winter seems to vary more than the others according to various websites, which indicate it can be in late April, May, or even June. Locust tree flowers are often white, such as those of the black locust tree. I don’t remember locust winter from my childhood, but that may be due to my limited memory.

Linsey-Woolsey Britches Winter

I know little about this one. It reportedly occurs after those mentioned earlier, in late spring. The name refers to a type of warm wool and linen (or cotton) clothing worn in winter weather. The end of linsey-woolsey winter supposedly indicates one can put away the winter clothing till fall/autumn.

Whippoorwill Winter

I also know little about this one. Various sources report it to be the last of the short spring winters, occurring in late spring. It comes when one can hear whippoorwill birds make music.

Closing Thoughts

These seven “little winters” of spring may in some cases be called by other names. Furthermore, there are a few other short winters of spring that I’ve heard or read about briefly, such as elderberry winter.

It’s nice to see the progression from winter to early spring to late spring. The beautiful blooms of plants that accompany the changes provide a way to name the cold spells of spring. They also make for some fun discussions. Enjoy spring!

Endnotes: 

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[1] “Weather Observations for the Past Three Days: Lexington Blue Grass Airport”; National Weather Service; April 22, 2024; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KLEX.html  

^[2]  Goins, Madylin; “Kentucky’s little winters: Here’s when you can put your coats away”; Fox56 (Kentucky television station website); April 15, 2024; updated April 18, 2024; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://fox56news.com/news/kentucky/kentuckys-little-winters-heres-when-you-can-put-your-coats-away/

^[3]  “Kentucky’s Little Winters”; WLEX (Kentucky television station website); April 17, 2019; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://www.lex18.com/stormtracker-blog/2019/04/17/kentuckys-little-winters/ 

^[4]  Jenkins, Mary Tom; “The Six Little Winters of Tennessee”; VisitClevelandTN.com; March 31, 2021; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://visitclevelandtn.com/the-six-little-winters-of-tennessee/

^[5]  Mays, Mary; “What Are ‘Little Winters’ “? WKRN.com (Tennessee television station website); November 12, 2019; revised November 13, 2019; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://www.wkrn.com/special-reports/what-are-little-winters/

^[6]  Knoll, Chris; “Cold Snap Names in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky”; WOWK (West Virginia television station website); March 17, 2023; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://www.wowktv.com/weather/cold-snap-names-in-west-virginia-ohio-and-kentucky/

[7] Sibray, David; “Sarvis Tree Blossoms Signal the Arrival of Mountain Spring in W. Va.”; West Virginia Explorer; March 19, 2024; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://wvexplorer.com/2024/03/19/sarvis-tree-west-virginia-serviceberry-funerals/  

[8] Manuel, Virginia; “Old Timers Had a Name for All These Weather Changes”; The Tomahawk; April 16, 2024; webpage accessed April 22, 2024; https://www.thetomahawk.com/archives/old-timers-had-a-name-for-all-these-weather-changes/article_04f92377-8ca9-5bdd-97bd-92d2f5304231.html

Mark Pope Is a Great Choice as Kentucky Basketball Coach: One Fan's View

The University of Kentucky's hire of Mark Pope as its new men's basketball coach is a wise decision in this fan's opinion.

Mark Pope has a reputation of integrity. That's important to UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart. It's key to many others too, including me.

Furthermore, Mark Pope has done a nice job of recruiting talented players. He's coached that talent well. And he's won many games. Details about his coaching record can be found on numerous webpages, including one on ESPN.

That past success of Pope's is not enough to make UK fans happy. But he can and will do much better at Kentucky.

UK's tradition, facilities, and other things, such as increased access to NIL money for players at UK compared to Brigham Young University, where Pope had been coaching, will help him 

As the new coach for the Wildcats, Pope likely won't recruit as well as John Calipari. Nor would anyone else as I see it.

Calipari is arguably the greatest recruiter in college basketball history. But this fan (me) thinks Pope will work out well overall.

Below is a photo of a UK banner I've kept for years. I'm a big fan.

By the way, the new coach has past ties to the Kentucky Wildcats. He played his final two seasons of college basketball at Kentucky. Pope was even a captain on the 1996 Kentucky team that won the NCAA title.

Mark Pope enjoys a reputation as a highly intelligent, extremely hard worker. He even attended medical school for two years after ending the NBA career that followed his college days.

The hire saves UK money too. Pope's annual salary at Kentucky is reported to be about $5.5 million dollars annually according to CBS Sports's Matt Norlander. That's about $3 million dollars a year less than John Calipari would be making at UK.

Still, Pope may be one of the ten highest paid men's college basketball coaches in the country next year. And when you're earning millions of dollars a year, are a few extra million that significant? That extra $3 million may be used to help in other ways.

Religion

Jokes may come since former Kentucky coach John Calipari was a Roman Catholic. Persons may say, "UK used to just have a Catholic. Now they have a Pope."

Mark Pope is actually a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). His Christian faith is important to him.

However, he welcomes religious diversity. His last team at Brigham Young University featured persons of various faiths according to an article on Deseret.com.

Furthermore, I'm confident Coach Mark Pope will be an excellent role model for his players and Big Blue Nation as a whole. I'm assuming that Coach Pope abstains from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, adultery, and numerous other vices such as major NCAA violations. Wrongdoing has led to the downfall of many coaches.

Fanatical Fans and UK Coaches

Kentucky's huge and often fanatical fan base is a blessing for coaches at times, but can be fickle too.

Pope will find pleasing UK fans tough.

Every University of Kentucky men's basketball coach for over 90 years has left the university under pressure of some type, feeling the need to move on due to lack of support, except for Rick Pitino. And Pitino experienced problems on and off the court at other coaching jobs after leaving UK.

Even Adolph Rupp, who had achieved more wins than any other men's college basketball coach in history at the time of his retirement, left under pressure.

He was forced to retire at age 70. That was the University of Kentucky's mandatory retirement age at the time.

By then Rupp's record of 4 NCAA titles for a coach had been surpassed by UCLA's John Wooden. 

The UK program has succeeded under multiple coaches though. Five different Kentucky Wildcats head men's basketball coaches have won a total of eight NCAA titles: Adolph Rupp (4), Joe Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, and John Calipari. No other university can lay claim to such success by so many coaches 

I optimistically expect Mark Pope to carry on the tradition for the Big Blue Nation. It's unrealistic to expect him to win title #9 for the Cats this upcoming season.  It's not happening the following year either. However, I'm confident he will succeed. NCAA title #9 (and more) may come during his coaching career at UK.

Big Blue fans who preferred another coach to be hired or for Calipari to stay will largely unite behind Pope--at least until he loses his first game. 

Furthermore, the new coach's faith, integrity, hard work, and determination can help reduce the number of those losses--and enable him to cope with fan displeasure at them.

Perspective

UK fans need to be realistic. Since John Wooden won 10 NCAA titles during a 12 year period at UCLA, Kentucky has been #2 in a sense. Neither Mark Pope nor anyone else is likely to break Coach Wooden's record.

Still, I'm looking forward to the upcoming season. Mark Pope will lead UK's men's basketball team proudly, humbly, with hard work, and--I'll state it again--integrity.

Last but not least, let's seek to keep college basketball in perspective. It's only a game. It's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things. Many (certainly including me) need to devote less time to following college basketball and more time to more important things.

Note: This article was last revised on April 13th, 2024.

Possibly My Toughest Jobs? Some Working for My Dad?

My toughest tasks? Possibly they were some jobs working for my dad.

One day as we worked outside, I complained about mosquitoes biting. He said, “If you’d work harder, you’d sweat, and you could drown them in your sweat.”

As a boy, one day he instructed me to pick up a certain number of rocks out of the yard. I did so quickly. He then told me, "you got that done so fast, do" a certain number more. He changed the job requirement during the job. That was discouraging.

Dad was a mining engineer and land surveyor. One day as I was helping him with a survey, I grabbed a container of cold water from his vehicle to take with us hiking up to the job site. He ordered me leave the water there, stating it was unnecessary weight.

I told him I could carry the water. He replied, "in that case you can carry a few more wooden stakes." He put the water back and handled me more stakes. He said his dad (who was also a mining engineer and surveyor) had told him something similar when he was a boy helping his dad.

On one job, when I stated I was thirsty, he commented, “you should have gotten a drink of water before you left” for the job. I told him that I did, but that was hours ago. He replied, “you should have drunk more. I did and I’m not thirsty.”

Doing household repair work, he would sometimes ask me to fetch a particular tool by saying something like, “Go over yonder and bring me my whatchamacallit.” I did not know where over yonder was, nor did I know what his whatchamacallit was. I told him that. He responded by pointing and stating, “That thing right over there.” This still wasn’t adequate direction for me. Often he had to get the tool himself.  

I helped dad over the years with many necessary jobs at our house. These included plumbing, electrical work, installing insulation, roofing, assembling a metal outbuilding, yard work, surveying, laying linoleum, and numerous other tasks.

Once he had me doing some type of guttering or roofing work. He said he’d hold the ladder. After a while I felt the ladder lean. I looked down. Dad was leaning on the ladder. I told him to hold the ladder, not to lean on it. 

The photo below is of dad on a day we were working together to unload a load of coal into the coal storage house at his home in Jenkins, Kentucky. That was probably one of our last jobs working together.

Some of My Dad's Successes and More Photos of Him

Lest you think otherwise, my dad was a wonderful, loving, caring man. He achieved much and did much for many, including me. He donated generously to charity and did a significant amount of  volunteer work.

I’m grateful to God for making William Edwin Gibson my dad. He taught me to drive a car, ride a bicycle without training wheels, the importance of looking up answers in books when one didn’t know the answer, etc. We actually accomplished much during our working together, despite my clumsiness and inabilities.

He was a professional engineer and land surveyor, and he held offices at the state level in the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers. He worked hard to provide for his family. During one period he worked many double shifts, working days as a mining engineer and evenings as a section foreman  in one of the company’s mines.

Below are more photos of my dad.

Dad during his college days at VPI.

Dad standing at Sky Bridge in Kentucky's Red River Gorge area in 1967 on a family trip. 

Dad opening a Christmas gift in 1981.

Dad standing in the dining room of his home in Jenkins, Kentucky in 1990.

Dad standing in 2004 near the future site of an amphitheater in Jenkins, Kentucky.

My dad loved and provided well for his family. We never went hungry or lacked for any necessities.

Dad's Final Years

In my dad's latter years he was baptized, became a deacon and treasurer in his church, and treasurer of the church’s county conference as well. 

I rented a car about four times a year to visit him, and I phoned dad at least weekly, often a few times weekly, during his final years. My last visit was a week before he passed on; my last phone conversation hours before he passed on.

We closed each conversation stating our love for one another. Dad passed on to heaven on April 27^th, 2013. I’d love to be able to work with him on another job of some type. I look forward to a heavenly reunion.

If you'd like to read more about my dad and see more pictures of him, you can read my 2020 Google Blogger article "Happy Father's Day."

NOTE: Since my memory isn’t perfect, the quotes of my dad’s words should be considered paraphrases. But I tried to quote exactly to the best of my memory.

My First Amtrak Trip: It Went Well

On Friday, June 23rd, 2023, I took my first Amtrak passenger train trip. It went well.

My train, the Route 50 Cardinal, was scheduled to depart from Indianapolis, Indiana, at 12:15 a.m. on Friday, June 23rd, 2023. It left on time. And it arrived at my stop, Washington DC’s Union Station, at 6:40 p.m., 4 minutes ahead of its scheduled 6:44 p.m. arrival. You can learn more about Amtrak on its website.

I live in Lexington, Kentucky, which has no passenger train service. I took a Greyhound bus from Lexington to Indianapolis, devoted a day to sightseeing in Indianapolis, then caught the train.

Boarding the Train

After boarding for the train was announced at Indianapolis‘s Union Station, I joined a crowd of others climbing up the stairs from the waiting area to the train platform. In the waiting area, I'd seen one elevator with two "out of order" signs on it. All persons seemed to take the wide stairs, which had railings on both sides and a platform midway up them. An employee asked persons who needed assistance to wait till last.

At the top of the stairs, I followed those ahead of me to the right. I saw a line of persons preparing to board a train car. An Amtrak employee there instructed Coach passengers to keep walking, and said, “Sleeper passengers talk to me.”

Sleeper passengers are those who’ve paid extra (much extra) to get a private room with furnishings that include a bed. The other type of passengers are Coach passengers, which just have a seat.

I was a Coach passenger, so I went on down to another line at another car. When I got to the front of the line, an Amtrak attendant scanned my ticket. Then he told me I was assigned to seat #11, a window seat, gave me a piece of paper with the number 11 on it, and said to go up the stairs and to my right. I asked him, “Are the numbers on the seats?” He politely replied, “No, above the seats.” I thanked him for the information.

Then I walked up the train car stairs with my two carry-on bags. Amtrak allows substantially more baggage than Greyhound buses or planes. Amtrak allows two checked items of up to 50 pounds each, two carry-on items of up to 50 pounds each, and two personal items of up to 25 pounds each. That's a total of up to 250 pounds of luggage.

I didn’t check any baggage, and only had two carry-on items, an American Tourister carry-on bag and a JanSport backpack.

When I reached my seat, which was on the right side of the train, I saw the number above it, 11. I met my seatmate, Al, a friendly guy with significant prior Amtrak riding experience. Al had the seat beside me, seat #12, an aisle seat. He was putting his bags into the overhead luggage rack.

I think there were a total of 60 seats in the Coach car I rode on, but I’m not sure.

After folks were boarded, and probably after the train had left the station, though I don't remember, an attendant came down, asked our destinations, and wrote them on a paper he attached above our seats near the seat numbers. My seatmate Al was going to Baltimore, which was beyond my Washington, DC, stop.

Our train was sold out. At one stop, the attendant told us that many persons would be getting off, but the train was sold out and others would be getting on to fill those empty seats. We should not change seats without permission. He said passengers could change seats after the Washington, DC, stop if desired.

Furnishings on the Train

A restroom was located in the rear right of my car. In the rear left of the car was a tank of water with a push-button spigot and paper cone-shaped cups to get drinking water.

The train’s restroom was clean and wellstocked both times I used it. The drinking water tasted okay, and seemed to be about room temperature.

On the left side of the rear of the car was a baggage area for carry-on baggage, near the water tank. It would have held large luggage. But I didn’t use it. I put one of my two carry-on bags in the overhead compartment above my seat. I put the other one, my backpack, in the floor in front of me, though it would have fit overhead too.

My seat legroom was generous. I had room for my backpack as well as my feet.

Amtrak seats are well padded. They include a foot rest that can be lowered to use if desired. They also include a padded calf rest that can be adjusted to support one’s lower leg much like a home recliner chair. The padded seat back reclined nicely and supported the back and head well. It didn’t recline quite as much as a home recliner, but it was comfortable. However, I’d have liked to have had a neck pillow. I think Amtrak did sell them on board as part of a “comfort package” that I think also included ear plugs and a blanket, but I didn’t buy one. 

Al, my experienced seatmate, patiently answered my questions, and explained how to adjust the seat.

A fold-down table was at my seat. Also, there was an electric outlet at my seat. And the train offered free wi-fi, which worked well in the Indiana portion of the trip. But after reaching Cincinnati and for much of the rest of the way it seldom worked. Fortunately, I had plenty of data on my phone when I chose to access it for news, weather, etc.

On this train, the Coach cars were directly behind the engine. They were followed by a lounge/dining car. Coach passengers can sit in the front part of the lounge/dining car. The middle part is the café where food can be ordered a la carte. The back part of this car is reserved for Sleeper passengers. A sign at its entrance states that Coach passengers can’t go beyond its doorway into it.

I took many snacks with me, as well as water. But I tried out the café, ordering two blue corn tamales and an orange juice. The tamales at $5 each were tasty, but small. The $3 orange juice was a bottle of MinuteMaid aseptic juice, and had a bit of burnt oranges taste, as aseptic orange juice often does.

Sleeper passengers get free complete meals included in their ticket price, and can make purchases at the café if desired. Coach passengers may be able to order meals in the café similar to those of Sleeper passengers, but I’m not sure. At any rate the prices are relatively expensive.

If I was traveling long distance and eating all my food from the café, I think I could spend over $100 a day just on food and drinks. That may be a bit of hyperbole, but maybe not.

Stops and the Train Whistle

During my scheduled trip of over 18 hours, the train made many scheduled stops. But according to the schedule, none of the stops was to be more than 10 minutes. Since we arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule, I’m guessing they adhered pretty well to that timetable.

Most of the train stations seemed to be on the left side of the train. However, one on the right side was the one in Alderson, West Virginia, shown in two pictures below. According to Amtrak's website, Alderson is just a "platform with shelter" and no restrooms, indicating Amtrak passengers cannnot actually go in the station itself.

Amtrak may have added cars and/or taken away cars at one or more of the stops. But if so they did it quickly.

For at least part of the journey, my car was directly behind the engine. It seemed that I could hear the train whistle blow every minute or two for a crossing of some type. I was in the rear of the car, so it wasn’t as loud as it probably was in the front of the car.

When I walked back to the lounge/dining car, the sound of the whistle was much quieter. It was probably relatively quiet in the Sleeper cars at the rear of the train.

Scenery and the Trip

I’d seen many pictures online of views from Amtrak trains. Those pictures typically came from western train routes. I can guess a reason why. Much of the scenery on my route was of deciduous forests, except for when we were in towns or near roads. During the winter you can probably see more.

During a significant portion of the trip, from Charleston, West Virginia, to somewhere in Virginia, an onboard guide read from a script and spoke through the train speaker system telling about numerous significant points. More than 80% of the things she described were on the left side of the train, and I couldn’t see most of them. Still, I enjoyed the narration.

Below is a photo of some trees and a river. White water rafters were in parts of the river, especially earlier in the journey, west of where this photo was taken, when the river was on the left side of the train.

There were three or four times during the Virginia portion of the trip when my train car leaned toward the left. On one occasion especially, I thought it might turn over, which was a bit disconcerting. The train was moving very slowly at this time, presumably due to bad tracks.

My seatmate who had much experience riding Amtrak, said it may have almost turned over there. He said he’d never had that happen before.

Not far after that location I saw a large piece of construction equipment near the track. Maybe repairs are being made.  

Al told me that most of his Amtrak experience was in the western United States where the tracks were in better shape. He stated that the eastern tracks were much older and had a lot of heavy freight traffic that damaged them. His explanation makes sense. He also said that the western United States is less congested, and the train can go several miles without blowing its whistle.

Exiting

After arriving at Washington's Union Station, I debarked, then walked along a sidewalk platform that was perhaps 12 feet wide, with others who had exited the train. Yellow lines perhaps two feet from the right and left edges allowed spacing before train tracks on either side. This left perhaps an eight-foot sidewalk platform to walk on. After walking perhaps a few train-car lengths, we debarked passengers came to an escalator up. After riding the escalator up, I got off it and I followed signage to Union Station's shops, etc.   

Closing Thoughts

Amtrak trains offer much more leg room and comfort than buses or planes, based on my limited experience. The opportunity to get up and walk to the lounge/dining car and other Coach cars is nice too.

I’d recommend a train over the bus or a plane for trips of a few hundred miles. For persons with the time, I think even a lengthy rail trip of several hundred miles that includes one overnight period is preferable to flying, due to cost savings and extra comfort, and preferable to  bus travel due to increased comfort.

However, persons traveling Coach who desire to sleep might want to wear earplugs, or maybe ear plugs + over the ear, noise reduction ear muffs. Though I had both with me, I slept some without wearing them. But many, if not most, other passengers might not sleep that easily

I did miss the meal stops on Greyhound buses though. If I were traveling a long way, I’d prefer a stop for 20-30 minutes at least once a day to buy a meal from a restaurant or snacks from a convenience store instead of paying Amtrak prices for its limited café menu, or buying an expensive meal.

My Coach ticket from Indianapolis to Washington, DC, only cost $73 purchased well in advance, which is probably comparable to the cheapest Greyhound ticket and much cheaper than flying.

My trip went well. I’d love it if Amtrak covered as many locations as Greyhound and offered much more frequent service.

NOTE:

This article was last revised on July 5th, 2023.