Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Railroad Trestle

Near the Portland-Falmouth line, you'll find this railroad trestle,with Route 295 humming in the distance with dinner time traffic. When I was 12, I took a 'Learn to Caddy' course at our local Portland Boys Club, and my love of golf was given birth. From that point on through my high school years, my summer days were spent at Riverside Golf Course luggin' bags. On the really hot and humid afternoons, many caddies said the heck with walking and sweating through 18 holes and headed off to this railroad trestle to dive and swim in the cool, refreshing waters below. Me? Mostly, I stayed behind in the shade with my summer high school novels and hoped to 'get out' as we'd say and make some money. No regrets!

ps Tonight, I'm thinking about Elenka. She's stranded overnight at Philadelphia International Airport with just a blanket, pillow, computer, cell, book, snacks, glaring industrial lighting, repetitive TV monitors and airport muzak. By the way, she doesn't do sleep deprivation well at all. This should be interesting! Sleep tight!

18 comments:

  1. You sound like you had an interesting childhood.
    Poor Elenka, I wish her well.

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  2. There are many things I like about this, starting with the word "railroad" (huge fan)and ending with Elenka's dilemma which I have also experienced.

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  3. Hi Birdman, Up at 5:15 am after spending the night covered in a Space Blanket they gave me. Fell asleep around 1:15 to HORRIBLE muzak that was way too loud all night. Relief came when the floor waxers and vacuum cleaners were doing their work.......
    waiting for the flight ......eating a bagel......miss ya.

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  4. How's the hair holding up, sweet E?

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  5. I toted a few bags in my day, as well.

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  6. Love your photo; reminds me of where my Dad swam when he was young, on the Ohio River. Hope Elenka gets home soon and without more hassle.

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  7. Reminds me of the movie Stand By Me.

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  8. I'm a former caddy as well. Early morning dew on the grass always reminds me of those days. I hope the wife survives the Philly airport, I would not fare well under such conditions either.

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  9. I spent a night at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, but I was much younger, and there were no muzak!

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  10. The Army has a way of making soldiers go through more than the hurry up and wait routines. They are great at sleep deprivation too. I used to be able to fly from Tokyo to the United States on planes using the "availability" basis. That means I might land in the middle of the Pacific at either Midway or Honolulu and get stuck there until another plane lands to refuel, etc, and has available space for me to climb in. I never got enough sleep and some times the sleeping/seating accommodations were not more than a hammock-like chair that swung back and forth with the balance.

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  11. I read Elenka's posting today and I am giving her PLENTY of leeway. My folks didn't raise a fool . . .

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  12. Poor Elenka is right. What a night that whole mess sounds like. Love the photo, btw.

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  13. Oh, so you were the "Miss it, Noonan!" kid, huh? I don't think anyone would do sleeping on an airport floor well.

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  14. I've left an answer for you on my Thursday post.
    : )

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  15. What a great memory to share with these wonderful photos.

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  16. Nice memories to go with this picture.

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