Thoughts From The Arthur Kill Train Station

In this essay, Brian Buchanan moves between video games, public transit, and life on Staten Island’s South Shore to explore how movement shapes memory, identity, and belonging. From digital “fast travel” to the lived rituals of the Staten Island Railway, it blends cultural commentary, local history, and personal reflection to consider what we gain, what we lose, and who we become when the journey gets easier, but the distance still matters.