DD #36 - Train Chasing

Living a block away from a creek had its advantages.  I remember garbage races, searching for graffiti, attempting to catch frogs, and wasting days away. However, one memory that sticks with me is connected to the train tracks that ran alongside the creek. My father is a train enthusiast and otherwise quirky man who loved memorizing when the trains would come, predicting how many cars the trains had, and literally sprinting down to the creek to count the cars on the train as it flew by. I recall wiffle ball matches and yard work  being interrupted by the distant roar of an oncoming train, an immediate sprint down to the creek, and the inevitable counting of the cars. This habit continued in my grade school years,  Being at a school whose playground faced that same creek, I spent recess time counting the cars of trains I happened to see, reporting them to my dad, and having tell me what train company it was, where it was coming from, and where it was going.  While I can't guarantee this specific tradition will happen with my child, I can only hope to create memories my child can look back just as fondly.