I thought I would share this Christmas story, as our Xmas travel plans are made for our annual train trip. I hate flying. No, I love flying, I just hate travel on US airlines. The moment I step onto the train, my vacation is underway. Every year, the wife and I visit family in the DC area. Here in Michigan, we drive to Toledo, catch the Capital Limited, and take her to Rockville, one stop shy of Union Station. A lovely trip.
My wife is a character, and she carries a bag of rubber duckies of many sorts with her. She hands them out to little kids we encounter (always through the parent), leave them with server tips, and even give them to adults who look like they need one. She is known locally as the Duck Lady. Oriental Trading COmpany has MANY versions of duckie, they even have railroad duckies, like conductors and engineers. She can find a princess duck for a litle girl, or a space pilot duck for a boy, ducks in military uiforms.
One trip, we met a very composed, proper, officious looking conductor doing his job. She gave him a rubber duckie that was dressed as a conductor. he thanked her and moved along. next time he came through the car, well, he had taped the conductor duck to the top of his hat, and he wore it there the rest of the trip. I know better than to judge a book by its cover, but he was the last person I would have thought to do that.
The car attendant got a duckie, and the dining car staff each got one. The dining car people remembered us year to year even. “Oh I remember you from last year, you gave me a duck”.
I always arrive at the station with ticket already in hand, so I COULD get there five minutes before the train and be OK, but we usually show up about an hour ahead. Not so much for the train, but just in case there is a traffic problem on the 100 miles of highway. But we always check in at the ticket counter just to be sure things are squa