(The following story by Vik Jolly appeared on The Orange County Register website on August 18, 2009.)
IRVINE, Calif. — If you listened closely, the notes from Ralph Bates’ bagpipes could be heard in the distance from the Irvine Transportation Center.
The lone man cut a surreal figure, slowly walking in a dirt field as he practiced under overcast skies along the railroad track early today, with his 4-year-old dog Rusty, an Australian shepherd, by his side.
Bates, 58, a retired Orange County Fire Authority firefighter, says he occasionally takes the path – with tracks on one side and dirt and strawberry fields on the other – for solitary practice away from his home in Lake Forest.
And, “because I have a dog who likes to run,” he says, smiling. “There’s nobody to be disturbed here, nobody to be bothered if I make a wrong note.”
Bates picked up the Scottish bagpipes a decade ago and still plays on the Fire Authority’s pipe band. His goal, he says, is to practice an hour a day.
The Metrolink engineer waved as the train raced south along the tracks today and people peered at him from the Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner headed for Los Angeles.
Bates says he used to the amused looks of the riders and the depot’s security people are familiar with him. He parks his car at the train station for the solitude of playing away from the crowds, while Rusty gets in his exercise.