Micki woke up this morning without black eyes. The show went on as scheduled. Kahauna and Micki both did a great job as the opening act. 50 of the best behaved kids you could ask for sat and watched Kahuna show his stuff. They were so good I thought my book reading might fall flat. However, they responded well and to our surprise we sold a lot of books. Several people bought multiple copies of both books as gifts.
I managed to get in a couple of photos with the kids at the Depot Inn, which I'll try and post tonight.
A lady in attendance today asked us to stop by and visit the company she works for. I was shocked to find it is Train Parties.com They have a huge Internet presence and do business all over America. What a surprise to find they are based in the small town of La Plata. We left them books and may work out a program for them to help with our marketing.
We also got a tour of a new gallery opening in town called the Silver Rail. Again a big surprise to find a class act in such a small town. I've got to be careful of my false assumptions. And, I should pay more attention as we travel through rural America.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Wow, how time flies. I just noticed Feb 7th was the last RCC posting. First the excuses: I went back in for more cancer surgery. It was a day thing and I got to go home that night, minus a large chunk of my right arm and another road on my head map. A few days later they did a core biopsy just above my heart. No one wanted to call the shots on that one, so I get retested in six months. So much for the sick thing.
I met with Santa Fe Southern Railway and they asked me to write a living history Billy The Kid drama that takes place on the train. Most of that has now been written and will be acted out in July and August as part of Santa Fe's 400th anniversary.
March 22 was a fun day. Several months ago I wrote a jingle about The Red Candy Caboose. We have been waiting for the scheduling to come together for the singer (Ellie Dendhal) and the musicians. Originally I wanted the song to sound a little like Johnny Cash. Ellie has a beautiful voice, but no way does she sound like Johnny Cash (much better). So, flying by the seat of our pants in the recording studio, Micki said can we toss the idea of a Johnny Cash sound? Westin the banjo player along with the guy in the studio doing a two-fingered key board laid down a new background sound. Ellie steps in the sound room and hits a home run. The recording studio couldn't believe the whole thing came together in one hour. I left to run a few errands and when I returned the whole thing was mixed and ready to go. I have sent copies out to the railroad stations selling the RCC book and they all love it. If you would like a free copy, just send me an e-mail @ redcandycaboose@gmail.com
Our second book "Rail Tales That Haunt Us" finally got sent to the printer and is now out.
What else? I worked a few days on the Santa Fe train spinning yarns. My son Jason and Sierra our granddaughter came for a visit. Way to long between sightings!
When we returned from Texas and Arizona in Feb. we immediately put the travel trailer up for sale and sold it withing two hours. The trailer was great in many ways, but both of us get stiff backs when we travel all day, so we sold the trailer and my pickup and bought a small used motorhome. April 7th we left for the National Transportation Exposition in St. Louis. Traveling is much better when one of us can take naps and read along the way. I'll let you know how it really is when I get a turn.
The exposition was beautiful. It is a huge museum that encompasses trains, planes, boats and cars. Four authors were invited to attend. We were honored to have top billing and top sales. Dirk Whales, author of Lucky Dog had the booth next to us. He is a delight and has a terrific sense of humor. With over 30,000 Lucky Dog books sold sense its release Dirk is virtually in every book shop I visit.
We left St. Louis the evening of the 10th and drove a few hours and decided to sleep in the motor home. We stopped at a mom and pop RV park that was wooded and had a small pond. The dogs loved chasing each other around the pond. Geese now have put the word out "No Longer Safe For Geese." It was the first week-end of good weather so it took several trys at sites before we found one without broken water lines.
Missouri is in full bloom. Trees, flowers and beautiful green grass has made us quickly forget the heavy snows of just a couple of weeks ago.
4/11 Arrived in La Plata, MO at the Depot Inn. Tuesday and Wednesday I will be doing story telling for the local school children and Micki and Kahuna will do dog tricks. Actually Kahuna does the dog tricks and Micki hands out treats for his efforts.
La Plata is a small town of 1,400 people. It has a train depot where Amtrak stops twice daily. It also has about 80 freight trains per day. This is the only place I've ever found that you can turn your TV on in the hotel and watch the trains live as they pass through town. The restaurant next door has a path going out the back that meanders through the woods and ends at a little viewing house on a hill that overlooks the tracks. Some people order their food to go, take it down the path and watch the trains as they dine. People who aren't into trains take the dinners to the barber shop and watch hair cuts.
The other activity in town is the short drive west to a small Amish settlement. The hotel staff said if I went out there not to tell anyone that I learned of it from the hotel. They prefer to be left alone and aren't interested in being commercialized. So, after breakfast we took a drive over to see what we weren't supposed to see. It was just like the movie with Harrison Ford "Witness." People dressed in black with little buggies pulled by single horses. After three passes down the road, I finally noticed a small sign on a fence post that said "General Store and Variety Store" or something similar. The last pass I pulled the motor home next two one of the buggies and got out to see the store. the outside looked more like a farm house than a store. The first hint of it being a store was the sacks of onions setting by the front door (like I've seen at the Farmers Market). Walking inside was a treat. Little ladies dressed in bonnets and long dress (all black) were having their goods weighed and rung up at the register. There were five locals in the store plus the lady at the register, who also dressed like the customers. They didn't speak English to one other, but something akin' to Pig Latin (at lease to my untrained ear).
Micki and I wandered up and down each isle and were in awe of the wide selection of merchandise as well as their very reasonable prices. Eatable things like candy and raw popcorn were in generic plastic sacks with simple labels. The shelves gave the appearance of being stocked by the tossing method. Toss here, toss it there or toss it on top of something else. And it worked. I had to wonder if modern stores got it all wrong. This little store arranged their things so that I wanted to pick up the merchandise and examine it and see what else was there.
Only two people were in front of me at the register, but it took a half hour to get my turn. I was smiling inside wanting to say "Can you open another register?" One of the little ladies in front of me laid a roll of weather stripping in front of the cashier and said something in Pig Latin. The cashier opened the package (probably a roll of 15 feet) took out a yard stick and measured two feet and cut it off for the customer. What a novel concept, "Buy what you need!" I immediately thought of the two half packages of weather stripping lying in my garage.
As it came close to me getting a turn at the register a group of five people walked in, dressed like ordinary people. It looked liked a woman in her late forties with two teenage boys and two teenage girls. Their laughing and giggling broke the atmosphere like someone throwing a stone through one of the windows. One of the boys walked up to an Amish man standing to the side and said "I'm from Tennessee and we don't have anything like this where I live." The man politely responded with "And I hear it is warmer where you come from. They say summer rushes in." That was my first inkling that the Amish spoke English.
When I stepped forward with one onion, a bag of licorice, raw popcorn, and sesame seed treats the lady behind the counter said "That will be seven dollars." I was surprised that her English was perfect with no hint of an accent and I was surprised that my small purchase came out even. Unless you are using a vending machine, that just doesn't happen.
Micki is currently in bed with a bag of ice on her head. We took a walk down the path to the train overlook. While chasing the new dog (Roxie) Micki ran into a sign and knocked herself almost out. She is concerned she will have two black eyes for tomorrows dog and pony show. We might call it the dog and racoon show.
I'll try and keep the blog up to date. Thanks for checking.
Ron
I met with Santa Fe Southern Railway and they asked me to write a living history Billy The Kid drama that takes place on the train. Most of that has now been written and will be acted out in July and August as part of Santa Fe's 400th anniversary.
March 22 was a fun day. Several months ago I wrote a jingle about The Red Candy Caboose. We have been waiting for the scheduling to come together for the singer (Ellie Dendhal) and the musicians. Originally I wanted the song to sound a little like Johnny Cash. Ellie has a beautiful voice, but no way does she sound like Johnny Cash (much better). So, flying by the seat of our pants in the recording studio, Micki said can we toss the idea of a Johnny Cash sound? Westin the banjo player along with the guy in the studio doing a two-fingered key board laid down a new background sound. Ellie steps in the sound room and hits a home run. The recording studio couldn't believe the whole thing came together in one hour. I left to run a few errands and when I returned the whole thing was mixed and ready to go. I have sent copies out to the railroad stations selling the RCC book and they all love it. If you would like a free copy, just send me an e-mail @ redcandycaboose@gmail.com
Our second book "Rail Tales That Haunt Us" finally got sent to the printer and is now out.
What else? I worked a few days on the Santa Fe train spinning yarns. My son Jason and Sierra our granddaughter came for a visit. Way to long between sightings!
When we returned from Texas and Arizona in Feb. we immediately put the travel trailer up for sale and sold it withing two hours. The trailer was great in many ways, but both of us get stiff backs when we travel all day, so we sold the trailer and my pickup and bought a small used motorhome. April 7th we left for the National Transportation Exposition in St. Louis. Traveling is much better when one of us can take naps and read along the way. I'll let you know how it really is when I get a turn.
The exposition was beautiful. It is a huge museum that encompasses trains, planes, boats and cars. Four authors were invited to attend. We were honored to have top billing and top sales. Dirk Whales, author of Lucky Dog had the booth next to us. He is a delight and has a terrific sense of humor. With over 30,000 Lucky Dog books sold sense its release Dirk is virtually in every book shop I visit.
We left St. Louis the evening of the 10th and drove a few hours and decided to sleep in the motor home. We stopped at a mom and pop RV park that was wooded and had a small pond. The dogs loved chasing each other around the pond. Geese now have put the word out "No Longer Safe For Geese." It was the first week-end of good weather so it took several trys at sites before we found one without broken water lines.
Missouri is in full bloom. Trees, flowers and beautiful green grass has made us quickly forget the heavy snows of just a couple of weeks ago.
4/11 Arrived in La Plata, MO at the Depot Inn. Tuesday and Wednesday I will be doing story telling for the local school children and Micki and Kahuna will do dog tricks. Actually Kahuna does the dog tricks and Micki hands out treats for his efforts.
La Plata is a small town of 1,400 people. It has a train depot where Amtrak stops twice daily. It also has about 80 freight trains per day. This is the only place I've ever found that you can turn your TV on in the hotel and watch the trains live as they pass through town. The restaurant next door has a path going out the back that meanders through the woods and ends at a little viewing house on a hill that overlooks the tracks. Some people order their food to go, take it down the path and watch the trains as they dine. People who aren't into trains take the dinners to the barber shop and watch hair cuts.
The other activity in town is the short drive west to a small Amish settlement. The hotel staff said if I went out there not to tell anyone that I learned of it from the hotel. They prefer to be left alone and aren't interested in being commercialized. So, after breakfast we took a drive over to see what we weren't supposed to see. It was just like the movie with Harrison Ford "Witness." People dressed in black with little buggies pulled by single horses. After three passes down the road, I finally noticed a small sign on a fence post that said "General Store and Variety Store" or something similar. The last pass I pulled the motor home next two one of the buggies and got out to see the store. the outside looked more like a farm house than a store. The first hint of it being a store was the sacks of onions setting by the front door (like I've seen at the Farmers Market). Walking inside was a treat. Little ladies dressed in bonnets and long dress (all black) were having their goods weighed and rung up at the register. There were five locals in the store plus the lady at the register, who also dressed like the customers. They didn't speak English to one other, but something akin' to Pig Latin (at lease to my untrained ear).
Micki and I wandered up and down each isle and were in awe of the wide selection of merchandise as well as their very reasonable prices. Eatable things like candy and raw popcorn were in generic plastic sacks with simple labels. The shelves gave the appearance of being stocked by the tossing method. Toss here, toss it there or toss it on top of something else. And it worked. I had to wonder if modern stores got it all wrong. This little store arranged their things so that I wanted to pick up the merchandise and examine it and see what else was there.
Only two people were in front of me at the register, but it took a half hour to get my turn. I was smiling inside wanting to say "Can you open another register?" One of the little ladies in front of me laid a roll of weather stripping in front of the cashier and said something in Pig Latin. The cashier opened the package (probably a roll of 15 feet) took out a yard stick and measured two feet and cut it off for the customer. What a novel concept, "Buy what you need!" I immediately thought of the two half packages of weather stripping lying in my garage.
As it came close to me getting a turn at the register a group of five people walked in, dressed like ordinary people. It looked liked a woman in her late forties with two teenage boys and two teenage girls. Their laughing and giggling broke the atmosphere like someone throwing a stone through one of the windows. One of the boys walked up to an Amish man standing to the side and said "I'm from Tennessee and we don't have anything like this where I live." The man politely responded with "And I hear it is warmer where you come from. They say summer rushes in." That was my first inkling that the Amish spoke English.
When I stepped forward with one onion, a bag of licorice, raw popcorn, and sesame seed treats the lady behind the counter said "That will be seven dollars." I was surprised that her English was perfect with no hint of an accent and I was surprised that my small purchase came out even. Unless you are using a vending machine, that just doesn't happen.
Micki is currently in bed with a bag of ice on her head. We took a walk down the path to the train overlook. While chasing the new dog (Roxie) Micki ran into a sign and knocked herself almost out. She is concerned she will have two black eyes for tomorrows dog and pony show. We might call it the dog and racoon show.
I'll try and keep the blog up to date. Thanks for checking.
Ron
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I think we made the decision this morning to pull up stakes and head up to Clarksdale, AZ where they've got another train (Verde Canyon RR).
Yesterday we visited the train exhibit in Scottsdale, AZ (McCormic & Stillman RR) where we not only got to photograph 5 great cabooses (Three full size and two 1/5th scale), but we also got a personal tour of their machine shop. It was amazing to see that two dedicated men maintain their 1/5th scale train operation, but also do the actual manufacturing and milling of replacement parts.
Book orders from places we've visited continue to come in on a regular basis, as well as request for personal appearances. One of our clients in southern Missouri called today and asked if we could spend National Train Day (May 8th) with them. They plan on doing three caboose rides that day with me doing storytelling between rides.
Wickenburg, AZ has been a great place to hang out. The weather has been consistently in the mid-70's and it is close enough to Phoenix to allow us to make side trips for business and visit friends in the area.
We've been living in a 19' travel trailer for the past month as we've worked our way through New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. 19' didn't seem that small when we started, but it now feels like shrink to fit jeans. It is so small I have to go outside just to change my mind.
Yesterday we visited the train exhibit in Scottsdale, AZ (McCormic & Stillman RR) where we not only got to photograph 5 great cabooses (Three full size and two 1/5th scale), but we also got a personal tour of their machine shop. It was amazing to see that two dedicated men maintain their 1/5th scale train operation, but also do the actual manufacturing and milling of replacement parts.
Book orders from places we've visited continue to come in on a regular basis, as well as request for personal appearances. One of our clients in southern Missouri called today and asked if we could spend National Train Day (May 8th) with them. They plan on doing three caboose rides that day with me doing storytelling between rides.
Wickenburg, AZ has been a great place to hang out. The weather has been consistently in the mid-70's and it is close enough to Phoenix to allow us to make side trips for business and visit friends in the area.
We've been living in a 19' travel trailer for the past month as we've worked our way through New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. 19' didn't seem that small when we started, but it now feels like shrink to fit jeans. It is so small I have to go outside just to change my mind.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
2/9/10 I’m sitting next to the pool in Wickenburg, AZ (with three layers of clothing) catching up on e-mail. The pool is the first area that hasn’t kept bumping me off the Internet since I left Santa Fe.
Wickenburg has got a really cool engine and caboose display right in the middle of town at the Chamber of Commerce. Actually the COC is using the old depot for their information office. Someday in Santa Fe I’ll get all the photos posted.
We didn’t know it before arriving, but this is the town’s biggest celebration of the year. Gold Rush. Everything is sold out. We stayed in the driveway of an RV park last night and moved today to a better spot today, but have to move to a parking lot on the 11th for what they call “dry camping.” We’ve been caught up in the local hype of carnival, rodeo, and parade, so we plan on hanging out until the shine wears off.
Nights are cool here, around 50, at least no snow and now pipes freezing.
Tomorrow I fly to Albuquerque just for the day. I should be back tomorrow night. Unavoidable business….
2/7/10
Tonight we are in Deming, New Mexico. We checked into an RV park that promised cable TV and high speed Internet. Cable Yes, Internet No. Again, I’ll post it later when I can get connected.
Saturday we left San Antonio and ad headed for San Angelo. San Angelo turned out to be a delight. We passed through the Texas hill country in total awe. It was beautiful and the small towns were something that would have stopped Norman Rockwell in his tracks. Frozen in time from times past, the little towns left us longing to come back to hang out and capture a bit of Americana.
Our meandering drive caused us to arrive in San Angelo a littler later than we had planned, but once in town we found the San Angelo Train Museum to be well worth the drive. If you read “The Red Candy Caboose” and remember Fast Freddie, then you can appreciate Harold who works at the San Angelo Museum. Harold is a perfect “Fast Freddie.” Harold informed us he was born in 1926 and started railroading in 1947 with a career that lasted 39 years. Harold was proud of the fact he was the only man on the roster that was able to spend his career with no demerits. Harold teamed up with another museum docent Dave Wood. Between the two of them I don’t think there is any question one could ask that couldn’t be answered. Dave has spent countless hours creating beautiful miniature train displays that replicate actual Texas towns. This wonderful duo was complimented by a beautiful lady by the name of Jimmie who was in charge of the gift shop. It should be noted that Jimmie is married to Harold. With a team like this it is no wonder the San Angelo Museum has been so successful in persevering Texas train history.
Next we made brief stops at Fort Stockton, Van Horn and Sierra Blanca where we were able to get additional caboose shots even though no one was around. Sunday seems to be a sleepy day for train museums.
Wickenburg has got a really cool engine and caboose display right in the middle of town at the Chamber of Commerce. Actually the COC is using the old depot for their information office. Someday in Santa Fe I’ll get all the photos posted.
We didn’t know it before arriving, but this is the town’s biggest celebration of the year. Gold Rush. Everything is sold out. We stayed in the driveway of an RV park last night and moved today to a better spot today, but have to move to a parking lot on the 11th for what they call “dry camping.” We’ve been caught up in the local hype of carnival, rodeo, and parade, so we plan on hanging out until the shine wears off.
Nights are cool here, around 50, at least no snow and now pipes freezing.
Tomorrow I fly to Albuquerque just for the day. I should be back tomorrow night. Unavoidable business….
2/7/10
Tonight we are in Deming, New Mexico. We checked into an RV park that promised cable TV and high speed Internet. Cable Yes, Internet No. Again, I’ll post it later when I can get connected.
Saturday we left San Antonio and ad headed for San Angelo. San Angelo turned out to be a delight. We passed through the Texas hill country in total awe. It was beautiful and the small towns were something that would have stopped Norman Rockwell in his tracks. Frozen in time from times past, the little towns left us longing to come back to hang out and capture a bit of Americana.
Our meandering drive caused us to arrive in San Angelo a littler later than we had planned, but once in town we found the San Angelo Train Museum to be well worth the drive. If you read “The Red Candy Caboose” and remember Fast Freddie, then you can appreciate Harold who works at the San Angelo Museum. Harold is a perfect “Fast Freddie.” Harold informed us he was born in 1926 and started railroading in 1947 with a career that lasted 39 years. Harold was proud of the fact he was the only man on the roster that was able to spend his career with no demerits. Harold teamed up with another museum docent Dave Wood. Between the two of them I don’t think there is any question one could ask that couldn’t be answered. Dave has spent countless hours creating beautiful miniature train displays that replicate actual Texas towns. This wonderful duo was complimented by a beautiful lady by the name of Jimmie who was in charge of the gift shop. It should be noted that Jimmie is married to Harold. With a team like this it is no wonder the San Angelo Museum has been so successful in persevering Texas train history.
Next we made brief stops at Fort Stockton, Van Horn and Sierra Blanca where we were able to get additional caboose shots even though no one was around. Sunday seems to be a sleepy day for train museums.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
As bad as the Internet service was in Dallas it is worse in San Antonio. I’ve given up. I’m posting this in my computer and will transfer if I ever get connected.
Before leaving Dallas we spent Saturday (1/30) at the Dallas Convention Center with our budding star friend Ellie Thurston. Ellie tried out for “America’s Got Talent.” She won’t know the results until sometime in April.
It was really a kick to see over a thousand people lined up to have a three minute shot at launching their career. Spectators can’t be in the judging room, but there was ample entertainment as people practiced and gave impromptu performances in the large waiting area. People came in from hundreds of miles away, waited six to eight hours and had one brief shot to impress the judges.
Sunday we left a cold Dallas and headed southeast. We visited trains in Rusk and Lufkin, Texas. Both places had cabooses to add to my caboose gallery. We then set up camp in the parking lot of Sam’s Club in Lufkin. Micki was embarrassed to stay in the parking lot, but after seeing the one RV park in the area she voted for Sam’s Club.
Tuesday we headed south to Diboll, Texas and met with their local museum. This is a small museum that encompasses the towns logging history and railroading as it relates to logging. Saying the museum is beautiful is a great understatement. This small town has a first class facility (Including a train with a caboose.) that any town would be glad to have. The folks in the museum encouraged us to stop by their local library and check into their storytelling program.
The library was another big surprise. Not just a library, but set up to give a warm cozy feeling like you were in someone’s private estate setting. The library was very welcoming and I posed for a unexpected photo shoot in their entrance as I held a copy of the RCC along with their librarian.
Monday evening we arrived in San Antonio chased by the cold wet weather. Folks here said it’s the coldest they have seen in over ten years. We are currently in a super cool RV park. It has got everything you can imagine, except the Wifi is down. They call the place an RV Resort. Cable TV, hot tub, heated pool, play grounds for kids and dogs, and a daily activity program with different events each day of the week. We would stick around longer, but with no Internet service we are going to hit three train museums in the area and then head out.
I have to be in Albuquerque on Feb 10th for a fifteen minute consultation with my doctor. We are planning to leave the trailer in southern Arizona and I’ll fly to Abq., for the day and meet up with Micki that evening.
Before leaving Dallas we spent Saturday (1/30) at the Dallas Convention Center with our budding star friend Ellie Thurston. Ellie tried out for “America’s Got Talent.” She won’t know the results until sometime in April.
It was really a kick to see over a thousand people lined up to have a three minute shot at launching their career. Spectators can’t be in the judging room, but there was ample entertainment as people practiced and gave impromptu performances in the large waiting area. People came in from hundreds of miles away, waited six to eight hours and had one brief shot to impress the judges.
Sunday we left a cold Dallas and headed southeast. We visited trains in Rusk and Lufkin, Texas. Both places had cabooses to add to my caboose gallery. We then set up camp in the parking lot of Sam’s Club in Lufkin. Micki was embarrassed to stay in the parking lot, but after seeing the one RV park in the area she voted for Sam’s Club.
Tuesday we headed south to Diboll, Texas and met with their local museum. This is a small museum that encompasses the towns logging history and railroading as it relates to logging. Saying the museum is beautiful is a great understatement. This small town has a first class facility (Including a train with a caboose.) that any town would be glad to have. The folks in the museum encouraged us to stop by their local library and check into their storytelling program.
The library was another big surprise. Not just a library, but set up to give a warm cozy feeling like you were in someone’s private estate setting. The library was very welcoming and I posed for a unexpected photo shoot in their entrance as I held a copy of the RCC along with their librarian.
Monday evening we arrived in San Antonio chased by the cold wet weather. Folks here said it’s the coldest they have seen in over ten years. We are currently in a super cool RV park. It has got everything you can imagine, except the Wifi is down. They call the place an RV Resort. Cable TV, hot tub, heated pool, play grounds for kids and dogs, and a daily activity program with different events each day of the week. We would stick around longer, but with no Internet service we are going to hit three train museums in the area and then head out.
I have to be in Albuquerque on Feb 10th for a fifteen minute consultation with my doctor. We are planning to leave the trailer in southern Arizona and I’ll fly to Abq., for the day and meet up with Micki that evening.
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