Come Fly With Me

Very little is needed to make a happy life ~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I swear it is the little things in life that make me the happiest...heading out of town on a Friday night makes me smile.

Cheap airfare is my biggest satisfaction right now.

Breakfast with old friends is forever an upper.

I had to wait on a train for the first time in my life on Pontaluna Road. Trains are bittersweet. Depending upon my mood, their whistle can wash me in melancholy and cause a lonely, desolate state of mind.  And yet, it can bring to mind thoughts of home, dreaming in my upstairs dormer and not letting myself dwell on the fact that it was a freight train.

My youthful mind conjured up images of men in top hats eating, drinking, smoking and laughing. Or women in fancy hats going somewhere entertaining or important.  Routinely the dream included a teenage girl heading west on a complete unknown adventure. Or returning east because of lost love or heartache.

I will never forget the look on my kid’s faces when they came downstairs the first year we put a train around the Christmas tree trunk.

My absolute favorite thing about Paris was riding the Metro, watching the Parisians, and listening to the street musicians play "Autumn Leaves" on their accordions.

I could go to Disneyworld for the day, pay the admission price, and just ride around on the monorail until closing. Or as Jen called it when she was 3 or 7 "the Meijerail."

I slept in a caboose once at Springhill. I can still remember the dream...I was the 5th sister in Little Women and I was heading west in a respectable hat to teach pioneer children in a one room schoolhouse.

I dream of seeing Europe by rail and on my list of 100 things to do, see, have, or experience before I die is head to New York by train for Christmas.

The List of 100...maybe I'll make that a journal entry soon. At this time in my life I absolutely WILL relish the journey and quit waiting for the destination or even the next stop.

All these thoughts went through my head while waiting for the graffiti covered boxcars to pass by and I could get home to buy my airline tickets for spring break.

Someday, I'll ride the train anywhere and everywhere, but for now I'll settle for a 2 and 1/2 hour plane ride to Florida.

Maybe I'll buy a proper hat for Easter.