Walking down the rail corridor at Sandgate with some mates, a ladder, and a case of beer wasn't in my plan for Wednesday morning. But here we were, a mere 12 hours after I and nine other community members made the call to stop a Hunter coal train.
I'm a former Hunter coal miner, but when the federal Minister for the Environment, Tanya Plibersek, approved three massive coal expansions at close of business on Tuesday - adding 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, and spewing coal dust all over the valley - all I could think of were my grandkids.
I've spent most of my 68 years building a better world for my family, but since the 90s I've known about the climate dangers of fossil fuel extraction - and people across the valley experience daily the health impacts of mining, including cancers, chronic lung disease, and aggravated rates of asthma in children.
Coal corporations pay less tax than everyday Australians. Instead of giving these bludgers free reign, our government should have prioritised new industries and transition support for coal workers decades ago.
It was the health impacts and the fires, floods, and famines of climate change that were on my mind as we set out towards Sandgate.
But even without climate collapse and pollution, the renewables industry in the Hunter is expected to create 34,000 jobs over the coming decade, and the coal export market is expected to collapse within that decade as our trading partners transition.
Placing such a bad bet on an industry of the past, when the future's so much brighter, is clearly a coward's concession to corporate interests. It was time to take a stand.
We came to Sandgate just before 10am, at the only rail entry point to Kooragang Island - and well clear of the commuter rail corridor - as a friend kept watch further up the line for the next arriving train.
Like clockwork, we got word it would reach us at 10:03am. Eight car doors opened simultaneously. I unstrapped a ladder from the roof of a beat-up station wagon. The case of beer - for the inconvenienced train drivers, not us - would arrive soon.
Alexa Stuart, a Newcastle Young Citizen of the Year and volunteer ethics teacher, was ready to flag down the train, as the others climbed the bank. The bright yellow locomotive emerged from the overpass about 200 metres away. Alexa stepped beside the track with two hi-vis vests, waving them above her head.
I give all credit to the reaction time of the drivers who halted almost immediately, bringing the train to a safe standstill over 150 metres away from us.
We swiftly covered the distance, holding a sign facing the locomotive window - "sorry for the inconvenience" - while others set up the ladder against a wagon and began to climb. As a former industry worker, I both feel for the drivers who have their days interrupted - and remember I've never turned down a paid break (or a good story) in my life. I like to think we gave them both.
In a few hours, we'd be bounced between police cells. But after filling a bag with coal from the wagon, Alexa left the scene. Instead of escaping, however, she drove from Sandgate straight up the M1 to Sydney - to Tanya Plibersek's office.
Later from my cell, I caught the evening news, and saw Alexa dump her bag of coal in front of the office and a large crowd of protesters.
She then handed herself in to the watching police, and her message was simple: if she can take responsibility for her actions, then our government must do the same.
Despite this, she remains free. The rest of us spent a night in lock-up and will be seen in court on October 10.
But I have no regrets. If the government doesn't stand against the corporations destroying our planet to fill their own pockets, the people will.
It's too late for anything else.
The only thing left to say is this: if you were one of the train drivers, and the company didn't let you keep the case - let us know. You've more than earned it.
