Railin'

Ever since I was a little kid, I have had a fascination with steam engines. This, of course, goes back to my love of "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" (which is the proper title. Thomas & Friends is for the newer generation who can get off my lawn at any time). But it's interesting that my love of the series (which still exists, although as an adult I look at it from a humor and story point instead of gawking at steam engines who can talk) has grown further.

When my family went to London, my major goal was to ride a steam train. Unfortunately, I did not accomplish that, but I did ride on British rail through the countryside to Stonehenge so that was alright, I guess. I was still disappointed that I didn't get to do it, but maybe someday.

What is it about steam engines that fascinates me? The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote the stories that would lead to the Thomas series said that as a boy he used to hear the engines from his window and the sounds they made felt to him like they were talking saying "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it"etc. I think that's part of it and it ties into something else. Steam engines look alive as compared to other forms of transportation. They exhale smoke and steam, like breathing. They chuff in a rhythmic style, just like walking. They whistle, just like talking. Some to say hello and some to say goodbye.

Beyond that, riding the rails is very romantic, not in a lovey kind of way, but in a soulful kind of way. Think about it. In a plane, all you can see is the sky and the ground below you. That does give freedom, but the detail can't be seen. Driving a car or riding a bus? You can see some detail, but you also see the road and the blacktop. Same with sailing on a boat, you see sights but you also see the water and other boats.

Trains are different. You can see all the different sights and a lot of the time you are alone, in terms of side traffic. It's you, the engine and the views of the world. That's the romance of it.

I really like trains but there is one time that I love them and the Thomas series most of all. But, as they say, "that's another story".

Some Random Thoughts

I have not had an great idea for another full post (know I'm delaying my soap opera one). But I do have a couple of random thoughts I want to get out.

1. I just saw a Ford commercial which described how hard it was to get around in NJ and they mentioned "roundabouts". That's BS. I have traveled a lot in this state. There are next to no roundabouts to be found. The only true roundabout that I have seen in the state of NJ is by the shore in the Brick area. So shame on you Ford.

2. I read the plot of that Darren Aronofsky film "mother!" By the way, I don't go to the movies. They're too expensive and I usually have a hard time sitting still for 2 hours unless I'm lying down, although I have heard that movie theater seats have become better. Anyway, I read the plot for this movie and just went "Huh?" There seemed to be no stream of consciousness in the making of this movie. If you've seen it, I pity you because it just seems like a load of crap that somebody is trying to pass on as art. And given the crappy reviews and the low box office, a lot of people seem to agree.

3. I have an idea for an upcoming series that I want to do on the 90s Mentos commercials. They were shot apparently in South Africa and began airing in 1991 ( which is very very ironic for reasons that I will probably get to). I wanted to do it kind of like MST3K only I would give my general observations of it. What do you think?

4. Everybody stay safe. The world is rough right now but I hope it will get better.

Thanks

Where I was

I was in French class at Madison Junior School. Suddenly the principal, Florence Senyk I believe, came over the loudspeaker and said that they prided themselves on not shielding students from the outside and keeping them in the dark, ot to that effect. Then she proceeded to say that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The school was abuzz for the rest of the day. School continued, but there was that big shadow in the backdrop.

My sister picked me up from school that day as probably did a lot of parents and others out of fear and worry. Because I was young and didn't really have anybody close to me affected by it, I didn't get the full scope of what that event meant. All I was concerned about was that the TV signal was knocked out and I had to watch tapes for the next 2 days or so. Boy does that seem small in comparison.

For me, I dont want to dwell on the memory, but it does pop up on occasion. Even looking at a digital clock sometimes and seeing the time 9:11 triggers a little bit of memory. But I dont dwell on it. I pause for a moment and then move on. That, I think, is the best way to remember. What about you?

PS: I still have the soap opera post to finish, but I wanted to get this in. Thank you.

Those Wacky Soap Operas

When I was little, my sisters used to tape a ton of different things. And being the curious sort and wanting to tape over their stuff with mine, I got to look at a lot of it. One of the many different things that I saw was a certain soap opera. The plot was such that a group of people fell through a hole and found some long lost city underneath the ground populated by people (who knows how they got there). The plot was split between the underground city and the people above trying to rescue them. It was very weird.

Much later I would discover that this was not abnormal for soaps in the 80s, which did weird and wacky things in order to attract viewers. And I mean really wacky things; not just the "I slept with my relative who is secretly the father/mother of my baby" thing. I mean batshit insane.

For example, the soap opera which featured the wacky story I just mentioned was One Life to Live. I 1989 the story was called "The Underground City of Eterna" and here is a clip

And to think ABC's money was spent on that. The storyline was apparently polarizing (REALLY?!)

and it ended a few months later. I'm not going to go into the details about that because it would probably take a novel. 

By the time the 90s rolled around, wacky plots were out of date and tackling issues became the cause celebre for soaps.

In true soap opera fashion, I will leave a cliffhanger here. Why? Because tomorrow (or later tonight if I'm up for it" I will tell you about the ONE soap that really began the wacky trend. Until then.....

Count Your Blessings

So I have not written a post in several days. I promised myself that I would not force myself to write every day but when I feel that I have something to talk about. But I do right now. And this is a serious one.

I have lived in Madison, New Jersey my whole life. Madison, by its own accounts, is a rich town with rich families. The easy way you can tell this is by looking at the exuberant number of banks there are in town. Seriously, there is a bank on every street or on every corner or intersection. Madison is the New Jersey capital for banks and Italian restaurants.

But. to get to the point, it makes it a little difficult to judge what I have. I have a loving family and shelter and food and a job etc. But in Madison, a town where wealth is evident, sometime that gets hidden and you think about how much money you have, what you own and materialistic and petty things, sports teams included.

And then you see the things in places like Houston and it comes into focus for a little while.

I actually experienced a major storm. When Sandy came through a few years ago, we lost power for a couple of days. In addition to that. I usually vacation down near Point Pleasant where Sandy hit hard.

I'm complaining about sports teams and people are losing homes and swimming in infected water.

Focus, indeed

Anyway, I know I should count my blessings and be happy for what I have. But sometimes that is very hard to do in the rush of everyday life. What do you think? And how do you do it?