loathar wrote:I personally wouldn't mind having a hotty give me a lap dance while I was detailing my Mikado.
Off topic, but I wonder if that's why I have 5 kids?
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
Yes, my point exactly! Whoever says model railroaders are all nerdy losers and anti-social send them my way! I'll get them straightened out!
Posh and piffle on all this debate, its dark outside and that is a GREAT time to run a garden railroad. See you guys in the morning, I've got a fast freight and passenger tourist run on the track. Lights, steam, action!
I've never had to use them, but I've got a choice of 2 responses worked out.
No.1 I model the transition era and what scenery I have is a "big city" area complete w/ a downtown and steel mill. If ever challenged, I plan to ask if, instead of a 3 dimensional, kinescetic, multi-media representation of America at its industrial peak, I'd chosen to paint a mural in acrylic on the same area (49 ft of wall) and subject would they still have considered it "Playing with toys"? If not, is the problem my activity or their perception?
No.2 If they just can't get away from the idea that it's a "silly waste of time", I'll point out that that's true for almost any recreational activity. When you get right down to it that description fits any nimber of activities. Tennis, swatting a fuzzy ball back and forth over a net; golf, knocking a little ball into 18 consecutive holes in the ground in the minimum number of swats; collecting used stamps that can't be used to mail a letter....the examples are endless. The value of recreational pursuits lies not in the activity, but in the recreation.
I think being a model railroader is like holding your wife's purse. As long as you have confidence, no one's going to give you crap.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Antonio--
If there's ever an opening for Emperor of the World, I think I'll nominate you.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Hello Crew, I wanted to post a thread like this before with regards to people we meet that "rip up" on us for being model railroaders.
The "Why do model trains get such bad raps" thread is a good one, but guys if you are indeed put down or "dissed" by relatives, coworkers, or brain-cell-deficient snobs.....then stay cool and don't sweat it!
This or a similar approach may likely work for us. I've posted the following before:
My favorite approach is to calmly smile at the offender......name a few famous people that are or were model railroaders.......and then tell him/her that by a mile this hobby beats going to a bar or night club several times a week, smelling expensive perfume and cologne mixed in with unspeakable body odors, and dumping hard earned money on alcohol laden drinks that are going to wind up in a toilet within the hour. (Funny, but that's what Hollywood says is cool!). In most cases he/she actually thinks about it......and agrees!
My wife's cousin used to spend money like water going to strip clubs. He told me that he finally woke up one, day over a decade ago, and realized that HO locomotives and rolling stock provided far more satisfaction and were much cheaper. Now he often talks about the joy he gets out of this hobby.
If you watch tv, tune into shows that you get something positive out of. Sometimes I do watch Law and Order and House since the characters have personalities with some realistic "depth" and "flaws" to them.
Guys, feel pity for healthy people who are so shallow that they spend countless hours watching that tube, smoking weed, or getting plastered on booze. Many of them won't routinely work on things, big or small, that help the mind expand its horizons, make one a more alert person, and become a person that is an excellent source for creative ideas! I've had my disagreements with some of you here, yet I think I would enjoy running into you at a convention or train show.
Haven't some of you noticed that many talented "hot shot" architects put together impressive models of buildings out of cheap prefabricated or raw materials? Another fact: Hobbiests have far lower rates of depression! How many of us have heard the doctor's cliche': Get a Hobby!
Guys, wake up! Model railroaders are among the most creative people that you will meet. That's you! If you doubt that, then look at the names on the "famous model railroaders" thread and mention them next time you meet a naysayer.
Being in this or other scale hobby indicates that you all are sharper than you probably realize......
Peace and High Greens
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"