Man Behind Me on AMTRAK Train Just Wants to Connect to the H:Drive

On the way home from Washington earlier this week, I had the joy of listening to the man behind me try in vain to connect to his H:Drive.

Let me set the scene. We were coming home under the careful eye of my favorite AMTRAK conductor, "B.C." For the longest time, I didn't know the conductor's name because his name tag simply says "B.Catts." Mr. Catts is a middle-aged, soft-spoken gentleman with the most perfectly manicured beard I've ever seen. When he scans in your ticket, Catts takes the time to point out where the restrooms are, where I can find the cafe car, and which door we'll be exiting out of at the destination stop. He's a true professional.

Because I didn't know his name, I simply referred to him as "B.C." for "Bearded Conductor." Of course, his initials are also B.C., so it works on several levels. Although I have since learned his full name, I still fondly refer to him as just "B.C."

As B.C. was coming through our car, he stopped to chat with the man behind me. B.C. said good afternoon to "Mr. Davis*" and asked how his day was. Davis said he had a good day and was heading out to Las Vegas next week. When B.C. asked if he was planning on gambling, Davis said he doesn't have much interest in it and only bets a few dollars. See, he's going to be in town for a conference, and his wife is going along. Everyone seemed to understand that this will be a PG-rated trip.

About 20 minutes outside of Washington, I can hear Mr. Davis on his cell phone. He looks like Senator Fred Thompson (with the goatee). And honest to goodness, he sounds just like Hank Hill from "King of the Hill." It's a great combination.

"Hi, this is Ed Davis," he says to someone I'm assuming is in IT. Ed explains that he turned on his laptop, and none of the main files on his desktop are there. Also, he can't find his link to the H:Drive. Normally, see, he "copies the H:Drive" to his desktop, but now it's not there. Where is the H:Drive? It was just there when he left the office.

"Did they do some sort of conversion?"

Ed reiterates that he can't find his H:Drive. He was hoping to do some work on the way home, but his desktop looks like a brand-new machine for some reason.

After about a minute of silence, I hear this:

"Lloyd? Lloyd? It's Ed. I was just talking to a woman about this. I can't see the H:Drive on my computer." Ed then goes on to tell the whole story to Lloyd. He syncs everyday, and he copied some files to his desktop, but now he can't see them, etc. etc.

After explaining the whole story, I hear, "Lloyd? Lloyd? Hello? Sh-t. Stupid cell phone."

(As a note, the cell phone coverage is spotty between Woodbridge and Fredericksburg).

A few minutes later:

"Lloyd? Sorry about that. Normally, when I log in, I just go to the batch file. Ok. Ok...Will you be in tomorrow, Lloyd? We need to discuss this tomorrow, Lloyd."

Ed then explains to Lloyd that he's going to be in Las Vegas next week for the conference. I don't really understand what this has to do with anything, but maybe it adds urgency.

"But if I connect in from home, then the H:Drive will be there?" Ed asks.

Ed now wants to know how he's supposed to work on the train if this is going to happen in the future. I want to also add that he's loudly sipping some sort of beverage during this whole conversation.

"We need to talk about this tomorrow," Ed says for the 57th time.

After hanging up the phone, all seems to be resolved. After some loud typing on his keyboard,  I hear, "Son of a b--ch. Un-f**king believable!" followed by the laptop slamming shut.

Ed later got off at the Ashland stop. Best wishes to Ed as he attempts to access and sync to his H:Drive going forward!

*Note: The passenger's last name has been changed.