''OH LISTEN,,, I HEAR A TRAIN''

Oh listen ….... ''A TRAIN''


Willa loves to hear trains. There is something about the ''jingle'' of the train that she just loves.
We were in ''somewhere'' Montana as I remember. It was one of those small towns with two stoplights and several bars and restaurants and places to buy cowboy stuff. We drove thur town and seen a sign that said ''city park'' and it had an icon of a camper. We decided to stop for the nite and enjoy the small town ambiance. We followed the signs and finally found the campground. It was very nice with about fifteen spaces and they were all big spots. We drove around toward the back side of the campground and noticed no one was back there. It was one of those self registration places and we grabbed a spot on the back. We pulled in and noticed that there was a very thick cluster of trees and undergrowth on the left side of our coach. In fact it was so thick you could not really see thur it. Willa started cooking supper and things were going great. She put supper on the table while I watched TV and we setteled down to eat. Way out in the far back Willa heard a train whistle.
“Oh listen honey,,,,,,,,,, I hear a train whistle,,,,,''
Giving a careful listen, I heard the train whistle also. It sounded a mile or so away.
''Oh honey, I hope it comes by somewhere kinda close so we can enjoy the rattle of the wheels on the steel rails dont you?''
We went back to eating and a few minutes later we heard the whistle again. Closer this time but still far away …............ Willa smiled at me and I sorta grinned ….
About five minutes later we heard the whistle again and it was no more than half a mile from us.
Unbeknownst to us, the train tracks were on the other side of the trees and undergrowth no more than twenty yards from the side of the motor home.
''Oh honey, I believe it is going to be closer than we thought''........
It was. In a couple of minutes the whistle sounded again and windows in the coach rattled. As the train went by us, the dishes started walking across the table and the light over the table went out. Our glasses of tea started jiggling and the tea sloshed out on the table.
“Holly Cat Stuff......... Grab something and hold on '' ….............
The train finally passed and our coach had moved sideways about a foot.....
Later that evening we discovered that it was a ''double track'' outside our coach and we got several situations where two trains would pass right beside our motor home.
We thought seriously about moving but decided against it because all the sights away from the tracks were already taken …... We toughed it out all nite. We were lucky in that the trains only went by every hour or so and sometimes two trains would go by at the same time . The next morning we discovered lose cabinets, a crack in the windshield, a lost hubcap, the tops off of three medicine bottles, two exploded Pepsi bottles and the table lose from the holder that affixed it to the wall. We got our 'stuff' together and got the heck out of there feeling lucky to have the coach all in one piece. From then on we always checked the proximity of railroad tracks to campgrounds we stayed in …..


On the road with Willa Gus Finnie and me.