Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Train Yard

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Left to right: Christopher and Nico inside an old train car


September 18th, 2013
We've been taking train adventures lately ever since my kids became obsessed with the long steal machines. My boys are in awe of the towering engines that pull the carts. When we stand to the side and watch them pass my boys wave feverishly at the train engineer hoping that the man who’s driving the train will see them and activate the engines loud ear piercing horn.
The boys are eager to see the train and attentively sit up in their car seats with their eye's set on the tracks hoping that a rail car will come their way. When that steal machine doesn't roll through they look to me as if I can magically will it to appear right before their very eyes. However their dad can’t make that kind of magic happen.
Since I can't bring the train to them. I bring the train to them.
Down in Miami there's a train yard where old trains get a second chance at life. Their steal bodies look so strong on the outside but their insides are bruised and broken. The trains of yesteryear show signs of wear and tear but with a little bit of love from volunteers they are brought back to life so they can be enjoyed again by the people who remember them most and new ones who day dream of what they once were.
Most of the trains rest on the tracks in tall brick sheds where they seek shelter from the harsh Florida weather. These magnificent machines hide in the vast concrete and brick sidings that reach high into the sky until their roof peaks touch forming a high-pitched roof. The massive garage doors open on all four sides allowing the machines to breathe in fresh air while customers marvel at their craftsmanship.

Other trains rest out in the bone yards of high grass and rusting tracks. The sore old bodies creaking with the slightest breeze that blows their way. The hollowed out insides house bugs and vermin who have no place to go to shield them from the elements themselves. They are the only passengers on these trains.

When I climb on board I imagine a man in a vested shirt and hat shouting to the crowd, “All aboard!” as we prepare to set off to a destination of pleasure. I sit in one of 8 train cars and wonder who had once sat here before I, and enjoyed the beauty of the outside world as they passed inside the world around them.

It’s the perfect place to reflect on life as I watch my kids play on the seats oblivious to the history of this old train. Kids are so innocent so pure that they over look the placard that reads “Whites” then flips to read “Colored.” Boy has time changed over they years.

Most of the people of those times have come and gone buried in train yards of their own as newer generations of people moved forward without them while disconnecting the past from the train of life forgetting what we’ve accomplished to arrive where we are today.

I want my 2 boys to live, and continue to discover, as they take the train of life to whatever destination their heart desires. I want them to be happy on the track they chose to travel without allowing the delays they could encounter that could influence them to give up.

I need my children to look forward without forgetting their past so that they will learn what it took for us to get to where we are. Our final destination will allow them to reflect on a magical ride through life.

This train will move beyond the train yard. I will move forward with my kids. I may be broken and brittle but I will push forward so my sons will know what it took to get us to this final stop. I will rise to the occasion as these majestic trains did in their prime.

The train yard doesn’t define me.  It inspires me.


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Published on September 18th, 2013. - See more at: http://www.captainimperfecto.com/blog_details.php?blog_id=188#sthash.ovRYssBv.dpuf


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The Adventures of Captain Imperfecto/Born Again by Christopher P. Fusaro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at christopherfusaro.blogspot.com.