Dasher's dilemma

Here's a dasher problem, and kind of Galesburg-specific geography question. I have a woman's order, from Wendy's, going out to a nursing home in Knoxville, the one that's out Market Street a ways. The dasher app sends me south on Henderson to the end of the road where it will turn me left on highway ten and go to Knoxville that way. It sometimes, in similar circumstances, will put me on the interstate which is how I might have done it if I were alone. But I usually do what the dasher app tells me to do, figuring it's better to be able to say, when it's all over, that I was doing what I was told.

So a little ways past Monmouth I get a call from the woman who says, when you get to this nursing home, find the visitor parking lot over on the side. I've pulled over a little to take the call but up ahead I see this train, crossing south Henderson, and this is the crossing that's way out south by Louisville. It's way out south. Not pulling over would not have got me past that train; I would have to wait.

Two problems I could see right away. First, it was going slowly. Not too slow, and not slowing down, but very slow, maybe ten. It was actually speeding up a little, but not much. But the second problem was the big one - it was HUGE. It went forever, with no end in sight.

Now you give the train about double the time since he's going about half the usual speed; it's going to take twice as long. But this was longer it seemed than even your usual double train, which has engines in the middle and which happen when they combine two mile-and-a-half trains together. This one seemed to be three or four trains long, with no sign of engines in the middle to pick up the process.

The dilemma is this: way out before you get to that train track, if you give up and turn around, how do you actually get to Knoxville? I couldn't come up with a solution. Going out Monmouth would be the wrong direction and might not assure me that I even got past the train. Going back to Main and ambling through downtown would take forever, but at least would get me under any oncoming train; then I could take Seminary or Grand but it just seemed so long. I just sat there. Maybe to my peril.

When I got out to the nursing home there was no visitor lot in sight, nothing. I drove around twice. I got it to her eventually but felt bad 'cause it took so long. A cold Wendys. At least she got one of those magical-colored drinks they're all making these days. A bad dash, you might say. But I've actually had pretty good luck lately, just staying in Galesburg.