Young Man on a Train

It was the day before our tour of Scotland, Wales, and England was to begin. We arrived a day early and toured the Old Course at St. Andrews Golf Links. That’s another story. We boarded the train at Leuchars for the ride back to Edinburgh. It was crowded. Maureen and I found seats one behind the other. I sat down next to a young man drinking a can of Stella Artois. He said, “Is that your wife? I’ll move up if you’d like to sit together.” Maureen declined. She wanted to take a little nap. He struck up a conversation asking if we were on vacation. I told him yes and we had just had a great day at St. Andrews. I asked if he golfed. He said he did when he was younger. His father was a greens keeper at their local club and both his father and mother won the club championship. He showed me a picture of the course on his phone. I found him engaging. He had a Scottish burr and laughed easily.

He was a big football fan (soccer to us Americans). He was just coming from a match that his team Dundee United had lost. He was upset. We talked about the documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham” and the importance of football to small towns and cities. How people’s lives revolved around the fortunes of their football club. I told him about the passions of American football fans. But it seemed much more personal in places like Wrexham and Dundee.  He had the build of an athlete. He said he played in school. I asked where he went to school. He told me he left high school after four years. Then we actually passed his school. He pointed it out and said, “It was a dump.” I asked how old he was and what he did for a living. He was 22 and a welder for an international company that made parts for underwater oil drills. He finished his can of beer and reached into a plastic bag on the floor and pulled out another. He asked me if I wanted one. He said he was on his way to a friend’s birthday party and they probably had been drinking since noon. It was late afternoon.

His girlfriend thought the party would be boring and was going out with her friends. He said they lived together about half way between their hometowns. He did say he didn’t want to live in her hometown because it was “boring”. Just a few shops not even a supermarket. His older brother went to university and was a primary school teacher with college debt. He much preferred welding. He was making a good living with no debt.

We have been touring for a week now through Scotland and now in Wales. But sitting  next to this young man gave me a good first impression of the people we would meet on our trip. As we pulled into Edinburgh station, I shook his hand and asked his name. He said Liam and I told him mine. He told us to enjoy our vacation and I wished him good luck. He walked out ahead of us holding his last can of beer in the plastic bag and disappeared into the crowd. I suspect Liam will not remember the American tourist he met on that train ride. But I will remember Liam and the enduring memory of a young man with his life ahead of him who took the time to talk to an old man on the trip of a lifetime.