Kevin. Sorry to hear of the passing of your friend. As Ed says, "Be glad of those photos and memories."
Cherish his memory and let it live on.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
It is both sad — and a rude awakening — to realize just how many friends and family have passed. I remember my mother who lived to 92, lamenting just that. I think back to my coworkers, friends and family and the sad reality is that there sure are alot more that are gone than are still with us.
All we can hold on to are the fond memories.
Be glad you have those photos and memories to look back on, Kevin.
Best wishes, Ed
Kevin,
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. It will get easier. Perhaps a tribute to him makes it onto your layout once you can begin building.
Mike
Truely sorry to hear of your loss, Kevin. All of a sudden I recall some lines from Robert Frost that I came across when I was a high school idealist:
And so it is with true friends as well. Arms around you from all your buds in the diner.
John
York1I'm sorry to hear about your friend.
hon30critterSorry about the loss of your friend.
This is a rough one for me.
We spent many, many weekend days just hanging out in my hobby room all day long. It is a rare person that you can spend that much time with and always enjoy their company.
Even though we only saw each other a few times in recent years, any time we were together it was just like old times.
He was one of the funniest people I ever met, and one the few that got my sense of humor.
His stories of how "he invented" the I-Pod are some of the funniest I have ever heard. His "parenting advice" when my girls were teenagers was absolutely rib-splitting it was so funny.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Hi Kevin,
Sorry about the loss of your friend.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
SeeYou190I just found out my old friend Chris passed away yesterday. He had been battling cancer for a couple of years. Ten years ago we were as close as brothers. Then he got married and moved to Naples, and I rarely saw him. He was only 52.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend.
Years ago there was a popular saying that went around -- Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
I heard someone say that that saying was exactly wrong. We should be thinking -- Today is the last day of my life. It's a reminder to live every precious day as if it's our last.
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
I just found out my old friend Chris passed away yesterday. He had been battling cancer for a couple of years.
Ten years ago we were as close as brothers. Then he got married and moved to Naples, and I rarely saw him.
He was only 52.
Good times at my model building desk:
Just a few years ago at a train show:
He never smoked, rarely drank, ate healthy, and worked outdoors most of his life. He was in very good shape.
So sad.
I had the Rib Eye for dinner tonight.
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
Tomorrow I am making Red Beans & Rice with half of the sausage.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Kevin: Thanks for your trip report. Bummer that Sunday was a waste in terms of selling stuff. We have a couple of really good meat markets in Dodge City; we enjoy NY strips, rib eyes, filets, and hamburger, too. Locally sourced; one of the shops processes their own steers.
CN Charlie: I guess we are having a heat wave; woke up to 5 degrees; and wind chill of negative 16. Won't get better until this weekend.
NorthBritWhat with Charlie and York1John on about the temperature below 0F, I am shivering at such thoughts. How do you survive?
"We're havin' a Heat Wave..... Tropical heat Wave"!
I went outside a few minutes ago to see what the storm left at my house. There is a 1/4" of ice covering everything. Spead a couple scoops of rock salt on that which needs rock salt, and started the heater and defosting elements in the Tesla. In a few minutes I was able to push the ice off the car and the porch and driveway are pretty much ice free now..... Just another Beautiful day here in the Finger Lakes.
I do need to get out and buy a couple items (Milk and eggs, most notably) but that will wait 'till later this afternoon I think.
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good afternoon Diners. A large coffee and blueberry muffin please, Chloe.
It has been a busy day with different things to attend to. Hopefully I can now take it a little easier.
Kevin. That looks a good haul you have there. The model shows here at present are big ones. Booking months ahead is preferable and means being away from home all weekend. The challenge for me is I have to look after Dawn, so I like to go to a local show. There is none at the moment. Hopefully soon.
What with Charlie and York1John on about the temperature below 0F, I am shivering at such thoughts. How do you survive?
My new passport has arrived. Dawn's hasn't. Should I book a cruise as a solo passenger?
Time to run a few trains.
Stay Safe Everyone.
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, Flo.
Kevin, that sounds like a nice trip, in spite of some of the weather. I'm amazed the train show didn't do that well on Sunday. Maybe a Saturday one-day show will be the future.
This is one of those nice winter days when there is nothing to do but to stay inside and relax. It snowed and the windchill is 25°F below zero. Even taking Daisy the Dachshund outside is easy -- she goes and immediately wants back in the house. No dawdling smelling the air or animal tracks.
While this isn't an unusual paint scheme, I sure love the new Union Pacific look. I know UP isn't really a favorite for modelers, but they are a huge presence in our state.
hon30critterThat sounds like a very interesting trip despite the occassional negative experiences. Thanks for sharing!
gmpullmanDespite your hits-n-misses, Kevin, I'm glad you had an overall OK time and got back safely.
CNCharlieKevin, sounds like you had an eventful trip. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for the comments guys.
It was a quick trip, but it was a lot of fun to go somewhere again.
We also stopped at a butcher shop in Georgia that is one of my favorites. I bought Sirloins, RibEyes, and ten pounds of hot smoked sausage.
We had the Sirloins last night, and they were so tender and flavorful. I just cannot find good meats in Florida like this.
We will have the RibEyes tonight.
This was the best find at the train show:
The red circle is around two white metal vehicle kits. I cannot be 100% sure, but I am thinking these are by Scale Structures Limited. The kits are very high quality, and they were just $1.00 each!
BroadwayLionMy Mother was, nd my brother is a Presbyterian Deacon. Of course I was a presbyterian too,
Hi Brother Lion! I was the only American Baptist kid (That I know of) that went to first grade at St. Mary's Roman Catholic School in Canandaigua, NY! I was absolutely terrified of the Nuns that taught there, at least at first...... Sister Agnes Paula was actually a wonderful, sweet lady, but I was still terrified of her (at first)... LOL
I was a month too young to go to first grade in the public school and my Father (the Teacher) didn't think HIS kids needed no Kiddy Garden. That was for kids with "problems" and he didn't want sitting around at home when I should be in school! My Dad was wrong about that, but I got a new perspective on the world at St. Mary's.
Good Morning,
Still cool here. It is -15F with a -38 windchill. Looked up a minute ago and saw the Piliated woodpecker landing on the suet log.
Kevin, sounds like you had an eventful trip. Thanks for posting.
John, better late than never for travel. Our trips were all planned by my wife in meticulous detail. Our first big one was to France and Italy back in 1988. We stayed in small hotels and in those days it meant writing letters for reservations. Luckily she majored in French Lit so that wasn't a problem. We also took a course in Italian before the trip which came in very handy especially in restaurants. Italian waiters tended to ignore unless addressed in Italian. If you wanted the bill you had to ask for it, in Italian.
I did run the S3 yesterday. What a nice little loco, now one of my favourites.
No plans for today. I wiĺl only go out to re-fill the bird feeders. There will be a lot of traffic with this cold weather.
Coffee cup is empty so will rectify that.
CN Charlie
Good morning everyone. Chloe, please just keep this cup filled with strong black coffee for a while.
York1Kevin, I thought of you this weekend while I was at a train show. This dealer had this sign on the floor with plastic tubs full under the tables. There were a lot of people on their hands and knees sorting through a large number of undecorated cars.
$5.00 each ?!?!?!?!?... I would have bought every single one of them without even sorting them out.
Good thing I was not there. The last thing I need are more freight car kits.
My first car was a 1963 Coupe de Ville that I bought off a RR friend who's daughter had the car at school in Georgia. That red Georgia Clay was packed in every nook and cranny of that car.
Despite your hits-n-misses, Kevin, I'm glad you had an overall OK time and got back safely.
The ol' 999 she ain't what she used to be —
110213_4 by lmyers83, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
That sounds like a very interesting trip despite the occassional negative experiences. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!!
Last weekend I went to the Real Rail club train show in Bradenton, and also had a little mini-vacation.
I was hoping it would be a magical few days, but it was laced with small "bummers" along the way.
-All Photographs by Kevin Parson
I usually only stay at Hilton Hotel Properties, but not in Florida during tourist season. The price of the Hampton Inn in Sarasota was $350.00/night, and the Hilton Garden Inn was $400.00, yikes. We stayed at the Super-8 in Ellenton, which was still over $150.00 per night.
The Super-8 turned out to be a pleasent surprise. The hotel was clean and in good shape. It was better than some Hampton Inns I have stayed at.
We set up our tables at the train show on Friday.
Everything I was selling are items I bought, but have since changed my mind about using. Some of those Campbell kits have been replaced by Fine Scale Miniatures kits.
We were set up next to this impressive display of laser cut bridges.
That was a bit of a curse. Everyone stopped to gawk at the bridges, and foot traffic did not flow well around my tables.
Our tables were right by the front door. That was interesting. The people manning the entry were not very friendly, and a lot of visitors were getting irked as they walked in the door. A couple of times they accused people of "sneaking in" only minutes after they ripped their tickets. Who sneaks into train shows? Is this a real problem?
There were five operating layouts set up. This G Scale train was my favorite. It had a lot of character.
After the first day of the train show we went to the Shake Station for dinner. I had heard about this little local place and wanted to try it out. What a great little diner.
I had their signature "Shake Burger", and it was amazing. What a crazy list of ingredients.
Look at this masterpiece of a crafted burger. All those flavors made a symphony of a meal. My taste buds are rarely this happy.
Just to top it off, I ordered the banana split with everything, and they meant EVERYTHING! This was magnificent!
If you are ever on I-75 in Ellenton, Florida, do yourself a favor and drop into the Shake Station for a burger. It is worth it.
Sunday was a bummer day at the train show. My wife counted barely over 40 people coming in the door. No one was buying. I only sold one thing on Sunday. It was a long five hours.
I think there is no reason for any more two day train shows in Florida.
The poor guys at Zitnik's Trains and Tex-N-Rails did not make a single sale on Sunday.
Yankee Dabbler was not at this train show. I do not remember a Sarasota Train Show where they did not attend. That was a bit of a let-down. I had a shopping list for them.
After we left the train show on Sunday I bee-lined it to Land-O-Lakes for Capital Tacos! This has been my favorite taco stand for a decade.
BUMMER: They no longer have any of my favorite craft tacos on the menu, and nothing on the menu even sounded good. Something bad has happened at Capital Tacos.
I got back into the car and drove to Coney Island in Brooksville, Florida.
This was good, all my favorites were still on the menu. I indulged myself with three foot-longs. I had a Rueben, Slaw Dog, and an Al Capone. This was wonderful, and I was happy again.
On Monday we went to the Swap-O-Rama in Webster, Florida. This is a huge outdoor flea market that is only open on Mondays. The days to visit are Martin Luther King Remembrance Day and Presidents Day.
We had a great time, but spent less than $20.00 on goodies.
Monday night we ate dinner at the Smok'-N-Pig in Valdosta, Georgia.
The last time I ate there it was not very good. It was during Covid-19 protocols, and nothing was right at the restaurant.
This time... WOO HOO! The Saint Louis style spare rib platter was perfect!
I was happy that the Smok'-N-Pig is back. It is not the best Barbeque in Georgia, but it is the best I know of with easy off-and-on from Interstate 75.
We stayed the night at the Best Western Winsor Hotel in Americus, Georgia.
This hotel is a magical place. It was built in the 1890s, and is truly something to experience.
We stayed in the "Jessica Tandy" suite. Nice room.
BUMMER: The balcony bar was closed for restoration. No sipping margaritas on the balcony at night. Oh well.
Americus is an amazing city. I will prepare another seperate post about it.
On Tuesday we headed out for a couple of State Parks in Georgia that I had never visited.
BUMMER: The sky was cloudy and overcast. Picture taking conditions were terrible.
On the way, we drove through Plains, Georgia. This is the hometown of Jimmy Carter. I have visited the Jimmy Carter memorials in Plains and Atlanta before, so this was not on the agenda.
There were dozens of news crews and satellite trucks all over Plains. I was not expecting to see all that. With Jimmy Carter in Hospice right now, I guess this is the area for news. There was a ton of traffic, and people were there from all over the United States.
The stop at Providence Canyon State Park was breathtaking.
The canyon is beautiful, and if the lighting conditions were better the pictures would be even more impressive.
BUMMER: The road to the trail head was closed, so we could not hike the canyon as we planned.
Although the lighting and atmospheric conditions were bad, I think they made this photograph a bit better.
Then we headed for the Kolomoki Mounds State Park.
BUMMER: It started raining, and we cancelled the plans to visit the Mounds.
We drove all the way home. We made it back at 8:30 PM. We were expecting to get home after midnight.
This was my haul from the trains show:
I picked up all four of those undecorated Athearn RDCs for $15.00, that was a bargain. They are all unpowered and will be painted for use as photo-props. I found four more train cars for the Tyco train set for $3.00 each. I spent less than $100.00 on everything.
My Mother was, nd my brother is a Presbyterian Deacon. Of course I was a presbyterian too, but since presbyterian monasteries seem to be far and few between, so I became a Catholic.
The Presbyterians gave me a good religion foundation in Sunday School, and I was confirmed as a Presbyterian, but this is the point where they fell down. I think we should have received a better education on the workings of the church, from Calvin on down. There is so much more to know than "Jesus Loves me this I know"...
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
howmusAs W. C. Fields once said, "I'm looking for loopholes." (Said when caught reading the Bible.).
I remember, many years ago, the priest in our church giving a homily on Palm Sunday. Being Catholic, there was a lot of discussion of sin and he got into a groove on just listing kinds of sins. He then drops one on us and says (and this is a direct quote) that "The Vatican has people hard at work discovering new sins." My uncle leans over to me and whispers "how do you get that job?"
Evenin' folks!
ricktrains4824He misquoted (or deliberately altered) one of my favorite scriptures, then asked everyone to sing Amazing Grace with him, and he messed up, then later on in the chorus forgot the lyrics!
Maybe he was using the "holy" book with the blank pages....? As W. C. Fields once said, "I'm looking for loopholes." (Said when caught reading the Bible.).
I had a BIL way back when who prefered the one where he could Make it up as he went along.... His first name was Reverend according to him. My sister finally divorced the clown and became a Deacon in the Episcopal Church which gave her the title, "Reverend". Now, I'm a deacon in the Presbyterian church which just means I have to do some work helping people whenever I get the chance.... words can mean different things, I guess.
Good evening diners.
Zoe - You think a round of favorite floats will bring people in? Make mine a Coke float please. Thanks.
Trains - Setting in place the next benchwork piece, then on to the next segment! The Hamburg (Buffalo) show was ok, came back with a few neat railcars, and snagged a calendar cheep. Found a intact (though non-operational) PRR 2-10-0 Decapod out behind an old station, that has been converted into a train store, along with the Buffalo Creek HH660 Alco switcher and a few other items. Overall a nice trip. (Although the new NY Thruway Tolling method is dumb as a box of rocks...)
Family - Boy was that funeral something else. The "preacher" man really got on my nerves, and I am pretty sure he was deliberately trying to get a reaction from various members of the family, based on things he said and did. He even stopped his service to reprimand my Mom for coughing (as quietly as possible) from asthma issues! I was extremely close to coughing very loudly on purpose at that point, just so he would yell at me, and give me reason to tell him off. But I didn't think that was the time or place to do so. (Had he tried to remove her, several family members would have not allowed it, myself included. Pretty sure two of my Uncle's would have escorted him out the door if he did try that.)
He said a few things about the reason we were there, talked about a few things from when my Dad's step-dad was younger, but then spoke about nothing but him, his wife, his Dad, and his Grandpa "finding religion" for the next hour... I do not think that was the time or place for that topic either. (We clearly were not there for his family. )
He misquoted (or deliberately altered) one of my favorite scriptures, then asked everyone to sing Amazing Grace with him, and he messed up, then later on in the chorus forgot the lyrics!
What he was paid by my Aunt for his "services" was way too much! (She was unhappy with him also.)
Steve-O - Glad to hear you and your wife are (mostly) recovered. I only had it once, but that was more than enough!
Henry - Thanks, and yes, alzheimers is indeed a terrible disease. My sympathies for your having to deal with it in your family. It's certainly no fun at all.
Hope all are well, best wishes for those not, and all enjoy the evening!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Last week there was a backflow of sewage through the city's main line that flooded 9 basements in our neighborhood with raw sewage. A co-worker a block an a half down the street has $30K in damages including cleanup and rebuild. Two of our back fence neighbors had some flooding. I don't know if top of the hill means anything in sewer design, but we are located at the top of the hill, and we were spared any damage. Poop does flow down hill, but I don't know how the sewer lines are laid out in our neighborhood.
Needless to say that there has been lots of discussion in our household about possible ramifications of a future event. I could not imagine the mess if my train room was flooded. I have talked to our insurance agent about scheduling my trains; and acquiring additional coverage for a back flow event.
I am tentatively scheduled to have cataract surgery on March 6th; although the surgeon's scheduler and I have been playing phone tag to nail down a time. I can't wait to regain use of my right eye. It has been a 18 month ordeal.
SeeYou190I am back at home. There is a lot of catching up I need to do in the Diner. I will be back tonight with more.
Kevin, I thought of you this weekend while I was at a train show. This dealer had this sign on the floor with plastic tubs full under the tables. There were a lot of people on their hands and knees sorting through a large number of undecorated cars.
CNCharlieLooked up Toronto to Johannesburg and it has doubled from what we paid in 2019. The hotel in Istanbul is up over 50%. That with the large increases inthe safari camp rates would make the trip we took far out of reach now.
Charlie, you and your wife certainly took some amazing trips. My recent trip to the MidEast was the first time I'd been out of North America. This summer will be my first trip to Europe. I'm looking forward to it, but I wish I'd done it earlier in my life. As with the MidEast trip, my wife is staying home. She doesn't want to travel.
I am back at home.
There is a lot of catching up I need to do in the Diner. I will be back tonight with more.
A Bagle! I never thought of that.
Everybody knows that a Coast Gaurd helicopter flies over the bay!
Bear, those cream buns sure look good.
TF, glad you like the cold because more is coming your way! An Extreme Cold Warning was issued here today and that is no fooling. The snow didn't come from me, likely Colorado is the guilty party.
John, you are certainly correct about air fare costs. Looked up Toronto to Johannesburg and it has doubled from what we paid in 2019. The hotel in Istanbul is up over 50%. That with the large increases inthe safari camp rates would make the trip we took far out of reach now. In general travel costs have really increased in just a few years.
Have the S3 on a short freight so will run it this afternoon.