The river was muddy and wide. In the northern distance, the brick-red roof and gold weathervane atop Mount Vernon’s cupola graced its western bank. Talk about history. The window wall of the Fort Belvoir Officers Club was panoramic and the view breathtaking. This was the celebrated venue of the Saint Martin’s Military History Club,, Read More
Happy people, I didn’t see a scowl all weekend, Buddha all. And, before I offend Buddhists, I use nirvana in an unexamined way, a colloquial synonym for Christian heaven. But, as true Buddhists know, nirvana is the extinction of desire, and in that sense, the Amherst Railway Hobby Show is the opposite. The show, Read More
Anticipating two days of gritty talk at the upcoming Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show, I’m posting this first-hand, railroad-lingo-laden account from my long-ago operating career. — Photo credit Dave Seitzer. Railroading is like boating. To do either safely requires “local knowledge,” knowledge of details that don’t show up on nautical charts or in, Read More
Tough Guys Veterans Day brings to mind a theme that pops up at every author presentation I make. It goes like this, “My relative (dad, uncle, grandfather, cousin) served in World War II, but he never talked about it.” I think I know why. When I was a young man, my father told me, Read More
I have, at times, introduced myself as a recovering motorhead. I’m still working on it. About ten years ago I gifted my British racing green Triumph Spitfire to my daughter and sold our lumbering Jaguar V-12 convertible. Then, I bought a real car, a 2003 Mercedes SL500. A lovely car, the best I’ve ever, Read More
In the Weeds in Palmer What makes a railroad town? There was a time when seven railroads chugged through Palmer, Massachusetts. Now there are four railroads, and the one passenger number, Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited, doesn’t stop. But, railroading is not dead in Palmer, quite the opposite. Palmer is a town of working railroaders,, Read More
First Impressions We bought our house on Barters Island in Boothbay, Maine in August 2016. We closed on the 12th and the 17th, the third Wednesday of the month, as regular as the tide, the Barters Island Community Association held its monthly Potluck. We were newbies, but we decided to go and introduce ourselves., Read More
Key to Success Key West is good weather and good food. It’s also good people. Kathy and I have been fortunate to visit her aunt and uncle here on many occasions. Coming here in February is a treat not just for the tropical heat and humidity, scurrying iguanas, free-range chickens, and randy roosters,, Read More
A rail yard is a place where work gets done. It’s a place where big, heavy, dangerous objects roll around sometimes without attachment and often without expectation. Big things happen in a rail yard, and you have to be alert. So, on any given day operating craft employees do their best to stay sharp, Read More
If you want to know your animal neighbors, let it snow. A fresh coating of pure powder is a perfect, unspoiled canvas on which critters paint time-lapse landscapes of their comings and goings. We were in Maine for the recent deep freeze, and while the below-zero cold was great for our nighttime star and, Read More