MFF - Sunday and train trip home

[lionkingcmsl]

Again, behind the cut

I'm not going to do a blow by blow account here.

Highlights were seeing everyone; buying a large Folkmanis tiger puppet ( :=3 ), being in Sunday's puppet show (thanks again Butterscoth Vixen for allowing me to join in at the last second), meeting up with JRedwolf and renewing our friendship. Also having Uncle Kage's limo driver doing a double take as the tiger, now named Shere Conrad, asked him if he was waiting for Dr. Conway. :=3

As for the tiger, I asked one of the Funday Pawpet show if they had one. He said no, but he didn't think I could bring Shere Conrad and use him on the show. Why? He said he would probably "over power" everything else. Being I've been to where the show is produced, I'm inclined to agree.

His name was interesting in its formation. I was going to name him "Stripes", for obivous reasons. Shockwave, glad to meet up with you, suggested "Exxon", but I said no, a certain oil company mightget upset. Then he suggested "Exxoff". Nah. I then thought of "Conrad" to help promote The Suburban Jungle,one of my all time favorite comic strips, online or off. Shockwave then suggested Shere Conrad and I agreed. ;=3

I say he's Shere Khan's brother. ;=3

Also a highlight was finally getting Plonq and Quick Casey together for the first time. I do believe if I had gotten them together earlier in the con, Atara's eyes woiuld've glazed over with all the railroad talk that would be going on. :=3 Sorry, Atara.

Bad points, only two I can think of: the con ending and me having to leave.

I have to express my regrets at not meeting everyone I wanted to, like Zen Wolph, or not spending as much time as I wanted with those I did meet. That is a hazard of running a dealer's table solo I guess.

Many thnaks go out to Quick Casey for getting me the room, putting up my special brand of insanity and just being a very nice fur in every respect.

Sunday night, at about 7:30p saw me depart the hotel for the RR station and my trip home.

Casey said he was going to pick up his friend Lou and treat me to dinner at a "special place", the Silver Palm.

We picked up Lou and drove to the diner and they said let's take a look at the outside of it. I was tyhinking, "ok, some sort of interesting iron work facade probably." not that I would've minded, as most of you know I love architecture. That, however, was not what the Silver Palm is/was. It is a railroad dining car, that was on the name train the Silver Palm from New York City to Miami!

I was thrilled beyond belief. I immediately told both of them it was coming home with me so I could use it on the CMSL. Lou replied that being a true Chicagoian that he would have to stop me. :=3

The decor was pure railroading, but not khitschy. The Mens/Women restroom door signs were done in a 30's art deco style. To top it off the food was great.

After we ate Lou and Casey both picked my brain about RDC's, train order signals and the like. It seems odd, to me, that while Casey is a older head than me (meaning he's been working on a railroad longer than I have), he deffered to me in some areas of knowledge. I guess I expect that when it comes to RDC's, as not too many people are involved with daily operation of an "as built" RDC's.

Lou also graced me with a quick skecth as a "lion man" while sitting at the table. Thanks Lou. When I get it scanned it'll be up on my home page.

We then headed to CUS to drop me off.

As we walked into the station we heard that my train would be delayed in boarding, as it was still being "erviced".

The train left about a haslf hour late. The trip was uneventful, other than running late for the most part. Some of this was due to track work and freight trains, but I didn't mind too much.

Most of my trip was spent in the lounge car entertaining people with my puppets.

It was a joy to watch people, including the train crew, smile with my antics.

I also had a very pleasant and long talk with a woman who thought I was a professional puppeteer. She wanted to know wher you could by good qwuality puppets (she was amazed at the quality of the tiger) and the maintenance of them (i.e. how do you clean them).

On the way home I fretted abouyt the cost of getting my car out of the parking garage at 30th St. station.

Remeber I said that it only went to $20 for 24 hours? I had hoped I could escape for that $20, but no. It was a maximum of $20 per day. It cost me $100 to get out of the parking garage. There is no way I'm ever going to park in that garage again. That signage is poor and misleading.

I spent almost as much money in that one garage as I did for the entire trip!


Many thanks to those that said hi to me, and it was great meeting up with those I haven't seen in a while and those I see more often: Shockwave, Cmdr. Kitsune, Atara, Plonq, Rama Lion, Ben Bear, Graveyard Greg, JRedwolf, Duncan, MLD, the Gneech, Vince S., Bauske, JBager, KathrisHali, Shy Matsi, etc.
Please don't hold it against me if your name is not mentioned. I saw so many furs and my head is a whirl with names, some old, some new, and all holding a special meaning to me.

Many thanks, again, go to my good friends that put up with my quirks, insanity, bad puns, and me being me. You know who you are. ;=3

So, that is the end of the MFF report.

If you want more detail, please ask. ;=3

Comments

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Differed from you in areas of knowledge??? You and those "Eastern" rules. I might as well be railroading on the moon. Those obscure rules, those zany signals. We didn't have most of that. And it's been nearly ten years since I was in the operating department, and 18 since I ran, I'm getting a bit cloudy on things. You do this currently.

[smrgol-t-kirin.livejournal.com]

How have we missed meeting all these years Casey? Especally since we seem to have a very similar group of friends ...

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

This year's MFF has marked my first anniversary of being active in the fandom. I am active in the local group LAFF (Lake Area Furry Friends) I do not travel to other cons, as no-one takes my place at work, and all that lovely stuff is there to greet me upon my return. But I have heard of you. In a good way. Perhaps we'll meet someday. Contact lionkingcmsl for my e-mail address if you feel like talking at length.

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Oh, deffered. Yes, you are working this stuff in the present. 1985 is the last time I dealt with an order board. And our was "yes or no" we didn't have that middle position. Which is cool. And your reeling off rule numbers. If you've been rules qualified as long as I have. Rule numbers change, I don't bother remembering the number, just the wording of the rule. I am sort of lax that way. But I always got the maunal with me while on duty. And my rules are GCOR, yours are NORAD? I thought that was a cold war missle system.

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

Actually, it is NORAC: Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee. There are plenty of roads that aren't in the northeast that use those same rules, like one of RRWolf's area railroads, the Seminole Gulf. Also the Indiana Harbor Belt uses them as well as the Central Railroad of Indiana and the North Shore Railroad, though I do not know if that is the same "North Shore" that we're familiar with.

I had my rule book with me and you could've looked at it.

BTW the Form 19 & Form 31 are old forms that are no longer used. I remembered them from hanging around towers in my youth.

Now we use a "Form D" and is the same as a "Track Warrant" that is used in some places.

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Sorry I was playing the word association game with your rulebook. I am old enough to remember working Form 19s, and 31s. A lot less chance of getting a paper-cut than with Form Bs and Ds. I have entire pads of 19s, interested in a couple? I don't think it's the same North Shore. IHB I can see, since it was partly owned by the NYC.

[rrwolf.livejournal.com]

Cool and neat. DId you happen to get any pics of the Seaboard Dinning car the Silver Palm?
Sounds like you had a good time.

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

No, nobody had a camera. But it is close to Lou's condo. I can go there all I want. It's a Budd diner, that's been updated to current standards, cooking is done in the original galley. The restrooms are in a building that butts up to the non-galley end, that also containes a bar.