Wonderful idea Dave,
I think our trainmaster has taken a keener interest than I first though.
He has helped the young man and his Dad get involved in a local modelers club, and when I last spoke to the TM, he told me the young man attended on a half day basis the HISD Magnet program, which is an accelerated learning program.
My middle daughter also attends a Magnet school, (small specialty schools inside the public schools) they offer not only the regular junior high and high curriculum, but advanced classes that earn college credits.
Most of the Magnet programs are math or science related and lean towards designing, engineering, applied math and science.
Next time I see the TM, I will pass on your suggestion.
23 17 46 11
Wow.
Great stories. That's about all I can say.
Merry Christmas to all.
eolafan wrote:Ed, every once in a while during my visits to Eola yard in Aurora, IL I see a young man (about the age of the boy in your story) who comes out with either his mother or father and is totally blind but loves to record the sounds of the passing trains on a recorder. It gives me a thrill (and causes more than a few goose bumps) when the engineers (seems to be especially true with the Amtrak guys) give him a real "concert on their air horns (they have come to know this kid and look for him on weekends).
Ed, every once in a while during my visits to Eola yard in Aurora, IL I see a young man (about the age of the boy in your story) who comes out with either his mother or father and is totally blind but loves to record the sounds of the passing trains on a recorder. It gives me a thrill (and causes more than a few goose bumps) when the engineers (seems to be especially true with the Amtrak guys) give him a real "concert on their air horns (they have come to know this kid and look for him on weekends).
Murphy Siding wrote:I wouldn't be too sure that he's not an occasional poster on this forum. There is a blind poster, of about junior high age, who records train sounds. I haven't seen him post on here in a couple of months.
eolafan wrote: Ed, every once in a while during my visits to Eola yard in Aurora, IL I see a young man (about the age of the boy in your story) who comes out with either his Mother or Father and is totally blind but loves to record the sounds of the passing trains on a recorder. It gives me a thrill (and causes more than a few goose bumps) when the engineers (seems to be especially true with the Amtrak guys) give him a real "concert" on their air horns (they have come to know this kid and look for him on weekends).Well, Ed, you and your mate are right up there with those engineers at Eola (actually a bit higher up the ladder in my book)....MAY GOD BLESS YOU BOTH. MERRY CHRISTMAS!Jim
Ed, every once in a while during my visits to Eola yard in Aurora, IL I see a young man (about the age of the boy in your story) who comes out with either his Mother or Father and is totally blind but loves to record the sounds of the passing trains on a recorder. It gives me a thrill (and causes more than a few goose bumps) when the engineers (seems to be especially true with the Amtrak guys) give him a real "concert" on their air horns (they have come to know this kid and look for him on weekends).
Well, Ed, you and your mate are right up there with those engineers at Eola (actually a bit higher up the ladder in my book)....MAY GOD BLESS YOU BOTH. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Jim
I wouldn't be too sure that he's not an occasional poster on this forum. There is a blind poster, of about junior high age, who records train sounds. I haven't seen him post on here in a couple of months.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
....Ed....The follow up stories just keep getting better and better.....The original work and stories since point out just how wonderful the action you fellows took really was.
And the spin off action now from the TM just adds to it....
Just so appropriate......God Bless.....Quentin and Jean Mong
Quentin
Tim,
We have a saying on the railroads...
"Keep cut in", or"Keep your head in the operation"
Funny, it is stamped on our switch folders, and on just about every safety bulletin we get...
Kinda ironic something I see and read everyday took so long to sink in!
Single or not, your still a Dad, enjoy them while you can!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Ed
Well Ed, I got to tell you... I re-read your story the other day, because I was having one of those "pity parties" for myself as it were... You know, the whole "its-hell-being-a-single-father-at-Christmas" kind of thing... In fact, I re-read the entire thread...
Thanks for sharing with us, your story, and follow up thoughts made me realize just where my priorities have been the last couple of days, not to mention my head......
God Bless Ed,
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
LC,
Seems a particular trainmaster beat me to it...
Turns out there are a lot of closet modelers on the railroads, and the young man and his Dad are currently being asked to join a local club, which has as one of its foundering members the former president of the local chapter of the NHRS...the boy should be in hog heaven...they are the folks who provide the car attendants and such when UP runs the specials down here.
The Make a Wish Foundation, along with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation are the two major "charities" Aimee and I give to.
Make a Wish, because they do such wonderful things for kids, and the JD Foundation because my Aimee is a diabetic.
As an addendum to the story, I went to apologize to the TM...he wouldn't let me...said I didn't know, so no apology needed,
Told me about his getting the kid in touch with the club then handed me an envelope.
Said the young man had asked him to give it to me.
Inside was a simple plain paper hand written note, thanking my crew for the "fantastic afternoon" he and his Dad had.
Imagine that, some new school kids still have old school manners.
Even better, I have an artifact to show my kids when they get all down and blue.
Dave, be my guest, but please make sure my railroad is not mentioned by name...but if the story of a simple cab ride can help someone with the Christmas blues, it is well worth it.
Ed -
I enjoyed the story. It is one that transcends all boundaries and geographic regions. I think my personal feelings are similar to those of others already expressed (wiping back a tear) so I'll try just adding a little...
Some years ago I was involved in getting a wish granted for a little girl through the Make A Wish Foundation. She had a congenital heart defect and wasn't expected to survive long. Although it had nothing to do with the railroad it was a real pleasure to be involved. The good news is that she went on to heart/lung transplant surgery and is currently a college senior. I still hear from her from time to time.
Hopefully, your relationship with the lad and his dad will continue as well. Have you considered letting the UP or BNSF PR people or OLS know about him? I believe there are ways to get things like 844 tickets or other consideration in such situations.
Merry Christmas!
LC
Great Story. I work on a tourist train here. We let people (young and old) have an opportunity to tour the engine (when we are stopped ). We let them sit in the engineers seat, blow the whistle and ask a million questions. And that look: priceless. You know then it was all worth it.
Merry Christmas
Ed, I told you a loved your story. Now I have downloaded it, sent it to the Jerusalem Post but asked them to make some changes to make the story more anonomous and not get a visit from the local FBI to have me turn over some evidence to the FRA! Specifically.
Booger bcame Bob. the Harbor became the Yard, the SP became the XYZ, and the age of two sons was changed to just teenager and young son. Crocodiles became bugs or will be eliminated. I hope this OK. I will also send the altered version with every Chirstmas card I send to my friends.
The message about safe driving is also very important as well as your basic message.
I think that what makes this story more special than the many other inspirational stories that I receive regularly is that it comes from someone that I know. I mean, I haven't actually met you, but through forum discussions, you are someone who has become "real" to me, someone with a personality. In that sense, I feel that I know you.
Many times as I read an inspirational story, I am left wondering if the event really happened, or if it did happen, how much the story was spruced up. I'm left with a "this is a nice story but it just doesn't seem real" kind of feeling.
But your story is real. Very real. And all the more heartfelt because of it.
Thank you once again.
Ed, I am sure I am not the only one to have pulled your story and the follow-up off and passed on to non-railfan friends, going so far as to drop it into Word so I could snail-mail to a couple of techno-resistant folks.
I won't repeat my comments added to the mailings, as I know you need not suffer additional praise for this event. Event is correct, though, because it caused you first and many others shortly thereafter to reconsider our own "woes" and realize that there are others who have problems that are greater and more real than our own and who maintain, in spite of that, a positive outlook in life because they understand what is really important.
I hope that you have a wonderful "shower" next Thursday with your kids. I got to watch the December shower with my Pop a long time ago, and that morning is still a wonderful memory of the good times I had with him. Thanks for the reminder that life is too short to overlook the importance of family and just plain caring.
Finally, I was struck by the thought that the youngster's Dad would make sure that the boy had the coolest running shoes on feet that could no longer walk or run. That is just plain heart...and good heart, for sure.
Merry Christmas to you, sir, and stay safe.
Some members of my family send around those Christmas miracle stories about the kid in the store putting pennies on the counter for gifts for mom, etc...we've all had 'em. This one...brought tears to my eyes.
I'm speechless...and choked up. Impressive story...
Dan
Amen.
The theme of many stories in Trains' Railroad Reading section is the writer's experience of getting an engine ride as a young person many decades ago.
More than just "making his day" for your young friend, you and the crew have given him an experience of a lifetime.
God bless.
Jay
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics
Wow Ed,
no words....no words....
What a wonderful story!
Thanks for sharing it.
-Don
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Yes, I would consider it a bad sign when i'm not even sure what it is i want to write.
uhm
That story was amazing, it is the exact definition of Christmas, quite contrary to the superficial idea surrouding it.
Hats off to you- you gave a child an ability, or chance rather- that he would not otherwise have.
i've printed copies out- I know a few people that could use such a story.
I know i needed this story.
Ed -- you, your crew, and your TM are heros.
S. Hadid
Ed, I hope the girls appreciate the effort of taking them to see such things, from what I've heard you and Aimee say about Beth, anyway, she will.
I hope the beach is dark enough for you to be "showered" in abundance. The moon will be at about its last quarter, not much of a problem before midnight.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
How to send -
You could go to the first page of the thread, then cut and paste the URL (address) into your email. Let them read the whole thing.
If you just want to send the text (don't forget Ed's later thoughts), highlight the text you want, copy it, then paste. I like to paste it into a word processor first so I can clean up the formatting, if necessary.
Either way, don't forget to give credit where credit is due.
It is an amazing essay.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Every once in a while a story like this comes up on the forum. A while ago I recall the story of Metra who named one of their new locos after a very young fellow who had terminal cancer.
I've made several copies of this story, but I have one elementary question. How do I email this story to others.
Thanks for this heart warming story.
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