April 3, 2014
A Rural Life
Day 3
C is for Caboose
Welcome to the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This is the fourth year I've participated in the challenge, and this year is all about living in rural America. It’s sort of like Walton’s Mountain meets the big city meets middle America.
Will I do a little promo along the way? You know I will! Writing is a big part of who I am. So thanks for coming along for the ride in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge.
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The part of Maryland I call home has a long and storied rail history. My great-grandfather was a railroad man, as were two of his five sons. Around here, it’s hard to find a family that doesn’t have a connection to the rails. Even today, the CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Winchester and Western Railroads roll through town on a regular basis.
When I was a little girl it seemed every trip to anywhere meant a stop at a rail crossing to wait as a train rolled past. It was a big deal to count the number of cars in the train and then to blow the horn at the caboose, especially if the conductor was rear platform waving.
I’ve grown up some since those days but I still have a fondness for trains. It’s rare to have traffic stopped since in the last fifty years a concerted effort was made to build overpasses for cars. But every once in a while it happens and I’m drawn into memories of being in the car with my elders, counting.
These days, even when I see a train, I don’t see many cabooses, and I think that’s a shame. I guess it’s not cost effective to drag the weight of the caboose when it doesn't carry a payload, but I miss them. It makes me sad that it’s one more thing the little ones in my life will never know.
But caboose or not, I still wave when the last boxcar goes by. And sometimes I look over at the vehicle next to mine and the people inside are waving, too.
A note from the author: When a publisher call came for a stories with an “all aboard” theme, I pulled from the local history for the opening to the story, “Station to Station.”
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Catching Fireflies is available at
Amazon, iTunes/Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo,
and other online booksellers.
KC Kendricks
Website: http://www.kckendricks.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
8 comments:
I was fascinated by trains and my favorite part was the Caboose.
I am with you. The only place you see them is in museums. We have a beautiful one in our park.
Enjoy the A to Z Challenge - looks like you are having fun.
Challenge Beyond
Today, I am challenging A to Zers to draw a simple picture with their mouth - try it!
Draw a simple picture with my mouth? I think the A to Z is all the challenge I need in my day LOL!!!!
I absolutely love train travel. I've done Europe via Eurail, including a hair-raising ride down the Swiss Alps. My dream is to one day take the train through the Rocky Mountains from Calgary to Vancouver.
I grew up in Derby, England where they researched'trains'2 uncles worked on the railways. I think I would enjoy a trip on the Orient Express.
zannie
http://theartistsdate.blogspot.co.uk/
I love trains! One of my favorite sounds during the winter when all the leaves have fallen is hearing the train come by and sounding it's horn about a mile away. It's such a haunting but somehow comforting sounds. I end up crossing the same train track three times from my house to work (only 3 miles away) lol Some days that can really slow a girl down.
Happy A to Z-ing!
~Anna
herding cats & burning soup.
Chris - we should ditch the spouses and do that!
Anna - we know a camping spot along the Potomac River where the sound bounces off the water and you can hear the train coming. It's very cool at night when you can see the light approaching, too.
Sounds like a plan to me :)
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