Of Trains. . .

I subscribe to National Geographic Traveler. It lets me live vicariously through it's contributors as I read each glossy page, each inspiring, scary, or gross adventure, and helps me keep a check list of places I should go (and perhaps not go) visit.

Last month, there was a story on train travel and the charm of it that made me very nostalgic. I used to live in India, and we would travel all up and down the coast by train. We would go Second AC class. Which was the higher end of second class because you got, well, an air conditioner to keep you cool during the heat of the day. We would rent out 2 compartments. Each compartment had 4 beds/seats, bunkbed style, and a table between the two opposite the door.

You would provide your own blankets, pillows and whatnot to keep you comfy.

It would be days before you'd reach your destination, and the cl-clack click clack click of the train as you meandered along the countryside was hypnotic. Through jungles and mountians, rice patties and deserts, villages and cities, warm sunrises promising a hot day and cool sunsets blanketing the land with darkness.

You see much more by train than you ever would with a plane, and the food is much, much better. At every stop the car would be swarmed with vendors selling creamy chai, hot frothy coffee, fresh omlets wrapped in banana leaves, curry and rice . . . and the food was all quite safe because it was cooked right there in front of you, all fresh ingredients. I've never eaten better than when I was train traveling.

You meet interesting people. At stops, beggars also swarm the train with their children, desperate for money, the third class passengers get out to stretch their legs, and you see how cramped it is in third class vs. second (we never tried first) When the train is going, you can visit with fellow travelers and see what they're up to, if they have anything interesting going on in their cabin, perhaps a musical instrument or two that they would play. . .

It's great. And I would highly reccomend it. The cultural experience alone is worth the trip, but the landscape and the food is breathtaking.

Sir Howard Thomas the Gray

My good friend Robyn adopted a kitten after she lost her cat of 20 years. Howard Thomas is this new little kittie's name, and when he first was adopted, he was near death. Almost euthanized at the pound because he was so sick with a respitory infection.

Robyn's good deed is that she took him in, and nursed him back to health. I got to help out for 10 days when they were out to Hawaii, and he was at death's door. He was steamed in the shower to help free up his breathing. Medications 2 times a day. Gentle playtime so he wouldn't be bored, but also wouldn't get his heart rate up and start gasping for air. Praying that this poor little thing wouldn't die.

And he didn't.

All those meds worked, and his breathing cleared up, his eyes got brighter, and he got a spring in his step and a viscious bite in his jaws.

Yes. . .a bite.

Sir Howie has turned out to be one of the most bitey, gnawy cats I've ever met. He's also rather calculating, like a Raptor from Jurrasic Park, he waits until the right moment to spring out from behind furniture and plants to attack. Poor Robyn. You'd think he'd repay her with kindness, but apparently he has a lot of exuberance after missing out on some kittenhood.

Sometimes, cats can just be darned ungrateful.

Heat for the winter. . .

It's roughly the size of a motorcycle.

It can heat a space of 2,900 square feet in 30 minutes.

It has a 14 gallon tank that runs on kerosene or diesel.

'Rugged' were the words that described the tires.

It's Red.

We've named it Big Boy.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, we just purchased an insanely impractical garage heater for my husband! It is really much too big for our 3 car garage, but it was half-off, it's COLD in Colorado right now, and we're both a little stir-crazy from having to stay inside every weekend for the past 7 weeks on account of snow.

As we left with our purchase rolling on a super-large cart out of Lowes. . .the men working there gazed fondly at it and made comments.

"That's the last one! What a price!"

"That will keep you warm!"

"That's a real nice heater you got there."

"You enjoy working in your shop now!"

Greg chest couldn't have puffed up any bigger and he walked with a John Wayne swagger as he waved and smiled to those Lowes men.

This weekend our neighbors came home with a brand-new beautiful baby girl, and boy were they proud. But... I must say, they don't hold a candle to Greg and his Big Boy!

A time for lights. . . .

This past Sunday Greg and I put all our outside Christmas lights up - it was a beautiful day, in the 60's, and rather than see Greg perish as he put them up in cold ice and snow. . . we put them up on this fabulous day.

He did all the roof lights - we choose big, multi-colored bulbs to line every single eave - and I did the 4 little trees in our yard. He bought roof clips to attach the bulbs to the gutter just perfectly, and rather than using them every foot or so as a normal person would do - he used 1 clip per light so that each bulb would stand up perfectly. (That's the difference between a normal person and a perfectionist)

At the end our house looks like a little rainbow porcupine, and the lights are perfect and precise, by God. Last night we got home from work, changed into our pajamas, and bundled up to see how beautiful our home was lit up. Greg flipped the switch with a relish, and came out to join me in the street.

And it was at the exact moment that he turned around to behold his creation, that creation played a dirty trick. There, on the right hand side of the foremost eave. . . a blue bulb winked out defiantly.

So we got in early to work today so Greg can change the bulb before it gets dark tonight. A perfectionist's job is never done.

And thus ended the tower light fiasco. . .

There you have it, all the letters.

The tower lights now blink meekly in the field behind us, everything seems to be working correctly - lights, bulbs, switches, and once again there is peace in the land.

And the final letter - where all was fixed (Letter 8)

Dear Greg,

Thank you for the heads up concerning the tower lighting. It seems that there are now a couple of flash heads that are significantly brighter than the rest, even at night. These flash heads have new transformers which cause the units to burn a bit brighter, but even so the ones in question are excessively bright. I have a tower crew on site today to test for proper switching of the day and night intensity. They are also going to climb and further investigate the flash heads in question.

Again, I apologize for the inconvenience this is causing. I will update you all when I receive more information. Thank you for your understanding!

Jack

And even though we thought it was fixed. . .it wasn't . . .and Greg wrote another Letter. . . (Letter 7)

Dear Mr. Clear Channel Guy,

My name is Greg, and I am a citizen with frontage to your tower, here in Weld County. I really appreciate you responding so quickly to our concerns with your tower.

I assume that the tower equipment has been replaced by now, and this is why I am writing. In the past, with the old equipment, as well as when you were having crews dim the towers manually, the lighting was bearable and comfortable at night. With the new equipment, that I am assuming has been replaced, the lighting is not as bright as it was when the equipment was malfunctioning, but it is still much brighter than it used to be. Now, I don’t want to be a bother to you and your crews, but is it possible for you to send a crew out at night this week to check and lower the brightness level? It is quite bright now at night, and its penetrating our bedroom blinds again, which can make for difficult sleeping conditions. It is also difficult to be in our backyard again at night, since the flashing lights tend to put spots in our vision. When the lighting is dim, as it was in the past, this was not a concern.

I appreciate your time concerning this, and thank you for your response,

Sincerely,
Greg