According to my mom, I had my first train ride when I was 8 months old (1953). It was from Michigan after visiting with Great Granddaddy Orvin Cattell, Aunt Helen, Great Aunt Peg and Thomas and Virgina (who was my dad's first cousins). Great Granddaddy Cattell had spent several months with us in Florida (his wife had died before Dad went into service). He's the one who drove us all up to Michigan. At the end of the visit, Mom, Dad and I rode the train to Missouri to see my grandparents (Dad's parents). Then we rode the train again from Missouri back to Florida. Obviously I have no recollection of that train ride. Since then, I've never ridden on an American train at all other than city or airport trains in some of the large cities.
The picture at the right is of my Great Granddaddy Cattell when I was about 20 months old. Dad said he used to come down to Florida quite often and visit. He's the one who gave me the stuffed rabbit when I was about 5 years old. (See blog entitled "The Velveteen Rabbit - My favorite children's story" dated 1/24/08)
I have ridden on Japanese trains frequently (1961-1965). Most of the rides were connected with my Sunday School class. My teacher was Jerry Guynn and he would take all of us to Tokyo to go ice skating. We would catch the train outside the military base and ride to Tokyo. I seem to remember that it took about an hour. After ice skating, we would always go to some restaurant and have some dinner. That is where I had my first "soba noodles" and fell in love with them. I continue to enjoy them to this day.
In Japan, soba noodles are served in a variety of settings: they are a popular inexpensive fast food at train stations throughout Japan, but are also served by exclusive and expensive specialty restaurants. Soba is typically eaten with chopsticks, and in Japan, it is traditionally considered acceptable to slurp the noodles noisily. This is especially common with hot noodles, as drawing up the noodles quickly into the mouth helps cool them down. These are commonly found in grocery stores in the dry form such as "Ramen" noodles. Corey grew up eating them as a snack or something to hold him over until a meal. (It is my understanding that Derek is developing a taste for them too. His mother does not like them at all).
In Japan, soba noodles are served in a variety of settings: they are a popular inexpensive fast food at train stations throughout Japan, but are also served by exclusive and expensive specialty restaurants. Soba is typically eaten with chopsticks, and in Japan, it is traditionally considered acceptable to slurp the noodles noisily. This is especially common with hot noodles, as drawing up the noodles quickly into the mouth helps cool them down. These are commonly found in grocery stores in the dry form such as "Ramen" noodles. Corey grew up eating them as a snack or something to hold him over until a meal. (It is my understanding that Derek is developing a taste for them too. His mother does not like them at all).These were some of the members of my Sunday School class:
Sharon Sanders, Tommy Moore, Chuck Lyliaer, Henry Moore, Karen Sanders, Brother Jerry Guynn, me and Debbie Friend. I don't know where Ronnie Guynn was, but I had a major crush on him.
My most unusual train experience was when I flew back to England for a second time to visit with Mum and Dad McLean. Even though John and I were no longer engaged, his parents had invited me back for a visit and I loved England, so I went.
Unfortunately for me, I had a series of delayed flights which made me miss my connecting flight from London to Newcastle where Mum McLean was to pick me up some 300 mles away. So, upon my arrival in London, I had no choice to catch a train for the trip north. I caught a cab to King's Cross Train Station, purchased me a ticket and boarded the train for a trip that was expected to last about 3 hours. Unfortunately, it took a much, much longer time. The engine on the train kept overheating and we'd have to stop frequently for it to cool down. If I remember correctly, I was on the train for over 7 hours.
My next train ride, other than an airport train, was when Corey and I flew back to England in July of 2000. The first train trip was the one we took to Paris, France and was written about earlier (see: Le voyage d'une journée À Paris, France or The Day Trip To Paris, France).
Upon our arrival at Mum and Dad's home, I presented with a birthday present. It was two train tickets for me to take Corey to Edinburgh, Scotland. They knew how much I love Edinburgh and wanted to take Corey for a visit and they provided the way and the time. The next morning we were taken to the train station with explicit instructions to catch a certain train that would get us back in the early evening. So off we went. It was a beautiful trip and exciting since I'd not been to Edinburgh this way on my two earlier trips.
One town that we got a glimpse of from the train was Berwick-Upon-Tweed and I fell in love with it and would love to visit someday. It looked so picturesque from the train - like a town stuck in medival times. I doubt that will ever happen, but one can always dream.
Berwick began as a small settlement in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in which it remained until the Battle of Carham of 1018 when it was taken by the Scots. From then on Berwick became a hotly disputed territory. In 1174 Berwick was retaken by England in a ransom following the failure of a raid into Northumberland by the Scottish king, William the Lion.
The town returned to the northern side of the border in the reign of Richard I (1189-1199), who sold it to obtain money for the Crusades. At the beginning of the following century Berwick returned once more to England, after Richard's brother, King John sacked the town, but Berwick continued to change hands until 1482 when the town finally became part of England within which it still (technically) remains.
Long story short, we made it to Edinburgh, had a great time and caught the right train back to Newscastle. That's a whole nuther blog.
So those are my train stories.
