When I was growing up I would chase steam locomotives with my father. It was more common back in the day to see these excursions riding throughout the Midwest.
In time these trips have become few and far between. The last one was in 2019 when Union Pacific ran their “Big Boy” locomotive through Chicagoland.
Less locomotives are in working condition. Many of them have become relics too expensive to run under steam or insure.
My dad was a railroad man who started his career when steam locomotives were still used. Diesel engines had taken over, but he still was able to drive a steam locomotive.
When I was a kid he’d pack a cooler with sandwiches and pop. We’d get in the car early in the morning and drive in search of steam trains.
Feeling the power of a train being led by an old steam engine is a great experience. I was fortunate to see them often throughout my younger years.
When I graduated from high school my father arranged for us to drive a steam locomotive for one hundred miles through central Iowa. He was the engineer and I was the fireman. We sat in the cab driving through the farmland of Iowa.
It is one of the fondest memories I have with my dad.
My oldest son George has been living with me for a year now. Recently he has acquired a few old film cameras. He also has the love passed down from Grampa Don for trains. His passion has grown into taking pictures of trains throughout Chicago.
George’s knowledge of trains and now photography is remarkable.
It is also a learning experience for me. In this last year I’ve learned how to become a better father. George was a boy on the autistic spectrum who is becoming a man with a special gift.
George sees things from a different perspective, a different angle. His brain filters the world in a unique manner that I don’t understand.
When I get stopped by a train I see an inconvenience. George sees a moving flow of artistic opportunity.
When George has a day off from school he takes the first Metra into the city and begins a day of riding the Metra and CTA. Chicago’s mode for transportation is his passion.
My son is one of those nerds we’ve all seen standing on train platforms with a camera. My dad hated these guys when we we’re chasing locomotives. They were always getting in the way…
I’m pretty sure Don is looking down from heaven with pride. If my dad was still alive I would be sandwiched between long conversations about choo choo trains.
This last year has been a growing experience for me. Being the father of George and his special gifts might be a daily challenge, but it’s a blessing as well.
We have each other everyday. Somedays we have his little brother and sister in the mix. Our splintered family has a reason to be the way it is right now.
George keeps me grounded most of the time. I don’t have the Jumbo weekend/Dad weekend schedule that I had after the divorce. Every weekend is a dad weekend.
….and it’s a gift!
George and I don’t chase steam locomotives around very often. He has brought the love for choo choo trains back that I once had with my daddy.
That’s why today’s quote on the Morning Chalkboard is so appropriate. It was written by John Steinbeck. I know the Cathedral High School crowd recognized it.
It’s a GoldBond day in April. March was cold and dreary and suddenly April shows up and with it comes the warmth of Spring… enjoy it while it lasts. We live in Chicagoland, it will be cold again. It could still snow again. Don’t put the winter gear away until after the winner of the 500 drinks his milk.
