The Polar Express

Kellie and I have been busy this past week hauling people to the North Pole and back on the Polar Express. Our neighbor, Mike Anderson, has this train and every Christmas he has the Polar Express which takes a journey through several yards with visits to all the lights, the North Pole (where the kids get to see Santa) then through a series of large posters depicting the life of Christ. I was fortunate engough to be able to help out this year and I got to drive one of the trains. (There are two of them that are constantly running during the event). I was kind of scared at first because not only did I have to drive the train but I had to run the music that goes with it. So... let's see.... I ran out of gas, once; I derailed, once; the music died on me several times; but all in all I guess I did pretty well. It was fun to meet so many people and see the reactions they had to the whole experience. I think I look rather dashing in my engineers outfit, by the way...

Kellie's job was to be my safety. She would keep an eye out on the passengers to make sure that they didn't lose things or drag things like scarves that could get caught in the wheels. Also she would make sure they weren't bouncing around too much which could cause a derailment. And... if we did derail, she would let me know so that I could stop the train. She was also responsible to call in to the North Pole to let them know when we were a minute out from them.

Last night was the last night and Mike was sick so I was glad to be able to help out. This is a large undertaking for him and I, as well as many others, are really grateful to the Anderson family for giving so much to all of us so it was good to be able to give a little back by helping. Oh, and I've got to admit, it was fun, too!