Sunday, January 14, 2007

Train Dorks

Last Sunday there was a train show in Hudson at the American Legion Hall. A big ad in the local paper gave the impression that it would be something that Grace, who is currently in a train phase, would enjoy. There would be plenty of model trains on little tracks, with those wonderful lifelike trees, old time gas stations, and other bygone artifacts. Sweet.

Admission was $3. Within a minute or 2 it was painfully clear that I would have been better off finding a crackhead who would make train sounds for us to give the money to. In the over 3000 square feet of floor space, there was exactly one setup, a large-ish train with 4 cars. Not one fuzzy tree, no miniature towns. Just a solitary locomotive going around a mountain (molehill?) that was in dire need of a paint and patch job. Nonetheless, there was a small crowd of disappointed children crowded around this feeble B&O. Any port in a storm.

The place also crawling with (ok, actually 2 that I saw) fathers wearing t-shirts with dubious sayings. Not being a reporter by trade, I neglected to write them down, but think along the lines of "Does this Tshirt make me look horny/". Between that and the concession stand selling sweaty hot dogs and Sam's Club sodas, we bid a hasty retreat.

In the interest of salvaging the outing, we headed down to the local real train station and waited for a passenger train to make an appearance. All's well that ends well.

Lesson: Never go to a train show.

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