Wednesday, September 10, 2008

A sentimental Object

Today's Link

Cut on the Dotted Line

Saying for the Day


- Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

Picture of the Day

(Old Layout from Crystal Falls)

Robert's
Challenge
( Show me object of sentimental value)
My Lionel



Robert , whoever Robert is, asked that we might tell something about today’s object of sentimental value so I will. Pictured above is one of my Lionel trains. All my trains have sentimental value to me so it is a symbol for them all and a little bit more.
I have loved model trains from the time I was a kid. Then I really wanted a Lionel. I used to turn down the corners of the Christmas catalogue pages that had the Lionel trains. I dreamed of owning one.
But my practical parents got me a Marx. There were two reasons for that.
1. It was less expensive than a Lionel.
2. It was more rugged than a Lionel.
It did hold up well. I still have it and it still runs. Believe me I was not nice to it.
I had a huge layout in a long upstairs closet.
I still dreamed of owning a Lionel. Like somebody who owns a really dependable Ford that gets him or her where they want to go and yet still dreams of owning a Cadillac.
Then I went to school and it got left behind.
When my kids were old enough to give me an excuse I decided to build a layout in our second parsonage. But I didn’t have much money and space was a consideration so I changed to HO but still dreamed of a Lionel.
Since then I have built huge HO layouts and an extra huge Garden Railroad layout but still I dreamed of a Lionel. Now when we moved to Neenah I decided to sell off all the HO and all The G scale trains I owned and build one fantastic layout in the basement. I bought two brand new Lionels and the one shown is one of them.
It represents a dream fulfilled.
I’m going to run it till it breaks down.
Then I’ll run the Marx.

News from Pigeon Falls
The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal.
Poor Tommy UK he really wants to tell Tammy, Nancy, his Mother and his Father what Mrs. Trumble told him. But he also wants to keep the information secret. Mrs. Trumble has been his friend for a long time. They did the White Rabbit together. She has listened to him, laughed with him, and given him a lot of good cookies. He really wants to keep her secret. He is discovering the problem with secrets. They have a need to be told and almost take on a life of their own. They hurt.
Nancy is now struggling with her own demon. She loves to gossip. She loves hearing something from one person and passing it on to fifty others. You can’t imagine how many affairs real and imagined she has reported on. If you wanted to know who was probably doing what you went to Nancy. But now , thanks to Pastor Joan, she feels that she can’t do that any more. It isn’t right. It can hurt people. Even the truth can hurt. But people still want to tell her what they’ve heard. They still expect she will share the latest stories with them. If she stops it might hurt business.
Right now she is sitting on one juicy piece of gossip. Sher heard from Ellen Maki, who heard from Estella Pemberty , who heard from Joan over at the Beauty Parlor that Bonnie McGregor’s husband was having an affair with Ail SorryWhile poor Bonnie has her hands full with the twins he promised to help raise he is sneaking around with Ail Sorry. What a rotten guy.
But then it might not be true. True or false if Bonnie hears it she will be hurt. The problem is Joan is telling everybody the story anyway. It’s not like Nancy can keep it from being told. How can it hurt if she joins in? She didn’t start the rumor. But she wants to do the right thing.
Will Tommy keep the secret? Will Tammy tickle it out of him? Will Nancy give in and tell the Ail Sorry story? If she doesn’t will she lose business. Is God testing her? How did God get into the equation? And of course is Tommy UK really the undertaker’s kid?

Wrap Up
This morning I solved the problem and my left hand column is now back in explorer.It took a lot of time and a lot of work but I fixed it. Then I visited blogs that had things of sentimental value. I spent a little time reading. Then I took a nap. I visited all my links and some more of the blogs with sentimental value. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA
***********************************

15 Comments:

Blogger Dragonstar said...

That's a tricky problem for Nancy.

Your Lionel is delightful. I'm glad you managed to get one at last.

4:00 AM  
Blogger Anndi said...

I loved that saying!

Your challenge picture is the illustration that it's never too late for a dream to be realized... we never should give up.

Thanks for reminding me of that and of my own catalogue gazing days...

4:24 AM  
Blogger Janets Planet said...

Oh my. Tommy UK and Tammy have a "tickling" relationship? How is that for a rumor? :-)

5:15 AM  
Blogger Gattina said...

Oh, that's really nice ! So many men love trains, I find it much neither then little cars !

6:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OOH a train.. my nephew would be so jealous! I remember going to Balboa park to the train museum with my dad. It was awesome....

Thank you for sharing..

7:25 AM  
Blogger Cindy said...

I'm glad you got the Lionel. Hope you enjoy it for many years to come! And that it never breaks down.

8:38 AM  
Blogger Lanny said...

And of course no one ever thinks it is "fun" to go to Mr. McGregor himself and tell him to keep his carrots in his own garden do they? Or maybe they would find out that he is and this is all a bunch of whooee, that's a bummer. Glad this is a news story from Pigeon Falls and not Roy. Wa.

9:57 AM  
Blogger Raven said...

Nice trains. Glad you fulfilled the dream. I say Tommy UK will keep the secret....

10:02 AM  
Blogger Dianne - Bunny Trails said...

What a poignant story behind the Lionel and all it represents. I especially love the closing line about the Marx. Funny how sometimes the loyal old standby holds a more valuable place in our hearts than we ever imagined.

10:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm happy to hear that you've gotten your Lionel trains. I think you'll find they're more reliable than you've been led to believe. I personally prefer smaller trains, like N scale. But you apparently have the room for an O scale layout, so get every ounce of enjoyment you can out of your new Lionel trains. But when recommending trains to others, remember they may not have as much space as you do.

11:21 AM  
Blogger Bazza said...

Lionel obviously means a lot to you. One of our neighbours has a train set, I think it must be a men of a certain age thing!

11:26 AM  
Blogger jmb said...

I thought we were only supposed to make the same mistake once!
Lovely story about your trains.

11:40 AM  
Blogger Carletta said...

Wonderful sentimental journey today Dr. John.
I'm glad you never gave up the dream of owning a Lionel.
I'm also glad you still have the Marx.

12:04 PM  
Blogger Robert said...

Whoever Robert is? Am I that mysterious? Ha ha. This is great. I had an old train that my father played with as a boy. I have no idea what happened to it over the years. I wish I still had it.

11:01 PM  
Blogger QUASAR9 said...

lol Dr John,
you'd be surprised how much experience I've gained
Yet I keep tripping over the same darned stones

11:28 PM  

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