Ruth Elizabeth Buse of Jacksonville had faith - and that faith has been rewarded.
Why else would she board an Amtrak train - her preferred mode of long-distance travel - for a 950-mile, 20-hour trip without any certainty that she could return home the same way?
Buse, 74, was at Anniston's Fourth Street railroad depot Wednesday to board Amtrak's Crescent for what's usually an annual pilgrimage to visit her daughter, three grandchildren, five grandchildren and other New Jersey kin.
"I sure hope they don't take this train out, or I'll just have to stay at home," Buse said.
She had faith because her $205 senior's citizen discount ticket has her returning home via the Crescent in mid-July - long after the busy Fourth of July holiday that Amtrak threatened Tuesday might be its last hurrah without federal funds.
Wednesday night, Amtrak reached agreement with federal officials to get enough money to keep operating through September.
"Like I told my daughter: If the train doesn't bring me back, she's bringing me back," Buse said.
What about flying? Don't count on it.
"I like to keep my feet as close to the ground as possible," Buse said.
Such was the case also with her late husband, Niles Buse, who died last Sept. 10 - the day before Amtrak travel got a lot more popular. Together, they made more than 15 Amtrak trips to New Jersey over the last 25 years. This will be her first since her husband got sick, five years ago.
"The seats - most of them - are really comfortable," she said. "I really enjoy it."
The Crescent's swing through Washington, one of the last stops before New Jersey, brings her close enough in to do a little sightseeing in the nation's capital.
Ann Gilliland, 72, of Anniston also prefers traveling by rail.
"The best part of traveling Amtrak is the dining experience," she said. "It's really a five-star restaurant."
Karina Van Bean, an Amtrak spokeswoman in Washington, said Thursday that the new agreement will ensure Buse and thousands of others get home the same way they traveled elsewhere.
That's good, because Buse had no plans to fly.
"I never have been on an airplane, and I don't plan to start now," she said. "Especially now."
