13 September 2009

Train of Thought...


I received an odd text today, which got me on a bit of a tangent. The text itself was about trains....

When I was a wee little girl, I lived in a small town. No, I am not talking about the sort of small town where the only place to shop is a Wal-Mart. No, the sort of small town where I grew up has a population of less than 200 folks, and there nearest Wal-Mart, or town of any considerable size is at least 1 1/2 hours away in any direction....

A small town of this sort has a sense of community that one cannot even imagine unless you have ever lived in one.... We also had things that city folk may never have heard of. For instance, the bookmobile. This is usually an airstream, or other such trailer, whose insides have been renovated to contain rows of bookcases, much like the photo above.

As an avid reader I was always excited about the arrival of the bookmobile. She only came once every other week, but when she did come we were allowed to walk up her steps and pick out any books we desired. They would be ours for the duration of the next two weeks. This traveling library opened Worlds to me.

One such world I shall never forget, is that of the Boxcar Children. Now, many children before and after me had the opportunity to experience this amazing series. However, because the bookmobile tended to have older books, I was able to enjoy them in their original, hardcover form. You know, with the obvious cloth covering over cardboard, much like the one pictured here. To think of it now, I held in my hands books that children from the 40s and 50s and had read and loved, and I read and loved them too. I, too, had fantasies of living in a boxcar.....

Many years later, and not too long ago, I came across an opportunity to enjoy the 'comforts' of a boxcar. This I discovered when I was planning a trip to the quaint little Texas town (no, not a small town like I referred to earlier) of Fredericksburg. By way of searching for lodging, I came across the 1894 Pullman Car. This is a luxury train car that Theodore Roosevelt is said to have slept in.

Though I was not able to spend quite the amount that they were asking, I have not forgotten its existence. I plan to stay there some day, and make use of its beautiful amenities. When I do, I hope that it is raining, and that I can enjoy the sound of the rain pitter pattering on the many windows and the metal casing that is the boxcar.