On Nov. 9, 2016, I boarded the Lake Shore Limited, Amtrak’s overnight service from New York to Chicago. I had with me a small suitcase stuffed with a week’s worth of clothes, half a dozen books, a bright blue Casio wristwatch, and a cheap digital camera I’d picked up at Best Buy on my way to Penn Station. My phone remained at home.
Over the next 13 days, I would log 8,980 miles aboard six trains, traversing 31 states, subsisting mainly on Three Cheese Tortellini with Creamy Pesto Sauce and Vegetable Medley. During this time, I had conversations with upward of 80 strangers, almost all of whom I met over meals in the dining car. Aside from what I was told by other passengers, I consumed no news in any form during my trip.
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