North Texas White Christmas

We've enjoyed plenty of 70-degree Christmases in Texas over the years, but this year gave us something different: actual snow on Christmas Eve (which remained on the ground on Christmas Day, and then some!) Driven by fierce 40-mph wind gusts which blew it into large drifts, it was the kind of snow that's more enjoyable to stay inside and look at rather than step outside and experience. Of course, I was at work on Christmas Eve, but I stepped outside the NOC long enough to snap this photo of something rarely seen...

White Christmas Eve in north Fort Worth

Before I went to work on the 24th, we celebrated Christmas with the kids at Mom's house.

M had a good haul this year...

L's credo

M's favorite gift - the Lego pirate ship

This "reindeer tongue" sucker was runner-up in the "bad taste in Christmas candy" category...

"Bad taste in Christmas candy" winners: Panda and polar bears that poop brown jelly beans

Even Sprocket got a gift: a chewable rubber tongue

I worked on Christmas, too. Not a single train moved until 7 pm, by which time I had enjoyed the nice catered dinner that the company provides for dispatchers on Christmas Day. Before work, I stopped through Saginaw to snap a photo...

White Christmas in Saginaw.

Hope all of my family and friends had an enjoyable holiday season.

Stay tuned for more coming soon.

WSC

np: Wayne Hancock - "Track 49"

No time for the blog... (6)

... just the photos. Let's see what the kids were up to during the holiday season...

On December 22, I celebrated Christmas with the kids a few days early at Mom's house...

"L pose"

M's piano recital in mid-December.

I spent Christmas Day with Miss C's family. Thanks to everyone who expressed concern about me being "alone" for the holidays this year, but trust me, I had plenty of company and was well-taken care of...

Miss C's son got the present he wanted, an X-Box 360...

A few days after Christmas, M joined me for a train ride to Dallas with my friend Blair and his son.

Taking a spin on the local merry-go-round...

Climbing a tree at the park...

... and ready to start a militia with his friend, C.

Check back soon for more.

WSC

np: Fred Eaglesmith - "I shot your dog"

Scratching the itch

Sometimes, it's good to just get out and see what's on the neighborhood rails. I didn't do much train-watching during mid- to late December, and I was getting the urge to see something -- anything -- on flanged, steel wheels. So I made a quick stop through Roanoke a few days ago. A northbound rolled through town while I was there, but the most interesting sightings were the monikers and logos found on cars tied down in the cement yard and storage tracks.

a familiar face on a cement hopper...

I think I've seen this one a few times before...

"Ewok" is commonly seen on covered hoppers.

I'm not quite sure what this is supposed to be...

Chessie auto parts boxcar

Still sleepin' after all these years -- the Chessie kitten

Wisconsin Central crest

One last look at holiday excess

For a number of reasons, I didn't blog much about the Christmas holiday season this past year. First and foremost, I was already feeling burned out on Christmas crap by early November, especially since the stores had their decorations flung all over the place even before Halloween.

I won't normally subject myself to an inordinate amount of trouble just to emulate what the masses are doing. When most of our neighbors were risking life and limb to install their outdoor Christmas lights, I decided the Whiskey family could survive the season simply by placing a lighted tree in our front window. But if the masses were truck drivers, and their rigs all looked like this, could you blame me for finally wanting to join the party?

'Twas the season at our local Peterbilt dealer...

Whiskey's concert calendar

Friday, Jan 11 - Wayne Hancock in Denton (Dan's)

Sunday, Jan 13 - Ray Wylie Hubbard in Ft Worth (Clubhouse Concert /White Elephant - 7 PM)

Thursday, Jan 31 - Gourds in Denton (Dan's)

Friday, Feb 1 - Gourds in Fort Worth (Aardvark)

Saturday, Feb 9 - Wayne Hancock in Fort Worth (Lola's)

WSC

nr: John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath

np: Jim Lauderdale / Ralph Stanley - "Oh soul!"

Texas Seven Christmas

In mid-December of 2000, seven inmates escaped from the Connally unit ofthe Texas state prison in Kenedy, Texas. After a couple weeks on the run, they robbed an Oshman's sporting goods store in Irving, Texas on Christmas Eve, killing Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins in the process before they fled to Colorado.

It was late January before authorities caught up with the "Texas Seven", five of them at a trailer park near Colorado Springs and the others at a nearby motel. Due in no small part to the Christmas Eve killing, their story had made national news, appearing on such high-profile outlets as "America's Most Wanted."Phone calls poured in on the tip hotlines, and soon the escapees could no longer avoid the spotlight. As the police closed in, one of the convicts committed suicide; the other six were apprehended and taken back into custody. All are currently awaiting their executions onTexas' Death Row.

I've thought about it many times -- how evil do you have to be to murder someone -- someone's father, someone's husband -- on Christmas Eve, the most pure and holiest of nights?

I've also wondered something else. I was at work the next day, Christmas Day, dispatching the Amarillo desk which included the former Ft. Worth & Denver line from Amarillo through Dalhart to Texline. We had a busy day going, with six westbound trains out of Amarillo heading toward Texline. However, no Trinidad crews were in position to handle the trains once they got to Texline. The Trinidad crews had all been home for the holiday, and a heavy snowstorm descended on southern Colorado and northwest Texas before the railroad could get the Trinidad crews in position. When the trains started arriving in Texline, all I could tell the crews was to tie 'em down and go to the motel. We parked one on #1 track, one on #2, and two trains nose to tail on the main. Somewhere along the way,we also parked two trains in the sidings at Guy and Perico, and since no crew limos were running, the last train en route to Texline picked up those crews.

Later, when I found out the Texas Seven had fled to Colorado, I imagined them driving northwest on US 87 through that snowstorm between Dalhart and Texline. Had they noticed the parade of trains as they drove slowly along in their stolen car, one of the few vehicles on the road during that Christmas Day whiteout? Maybe they heard a train whistle during a stop at a Dalhart convenience store for gas and coffee? Hell, they might have driven within a mile or two of MY HOUSE as they departed the D-FW area; I might even have passed them on the freeway on my way home from work on Christmas Eve. Sometimes -- even at Christmas -- evil lurks closer than we think.

I can't begin to imagine the level of grief the Hawkins family must have gone through during that Christmas of 2000. For my family, it was just another holiday. K's sisters were in town and her parents drove up from Arlington to join us for dinner like they do every year. Maybe my parents joined us for dinner as well, or maybe we went to their house for dinner a day or two earlier. Eight years down the road, I honestly can't remember. What I do remember is the Hawkins case serving as a sobering reminder of the preciousness and uncertainty of life, of the importance of never taking the people we love for granted, and the thanks and gratitude we owe officers like Aubrey Hawkins for putting their lives on the line -- 365 days a year -- to keep us and our families safe.

WSC

np: Throwing Muses - "Not too soon"

nr: John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath

holiday wishes, etc.

It's that time again....

K's family has begun arriving from out of town, so any of us who weren't already in the Christmas spirit had better damned well get there pretty quick. On Friday, I could begin to feel the excitement -- the calendar read "December 21" (t-minus 4 days), the North Freeway was jammed well before the traditional rush hour with folks trying to get a jump start on their holiday travels, and I got a highly-coveted covered parking spot in our office parking garage at 2 in the afternoon (the 8-to-5-ers were already starting to jump ship for the long weekend). Trays of candy canes and home-baked cookies are appearing on desks throughout the office, and the kids are done with school for the year.

So, Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Festivus, or alternate winter solstice holiday...) and Happy New Year from the Whiskey family to yours. Hope there's something nice under the tree with your name on it. And I hope you get a chance to enjoy the company of family and friends, maybe watch some football if that's your thing, or even just one of your favorite Christmas movies.

Stay tuned in 2008 for a new blog re-capping the 18th year of my life. I'll turn 36 in January, so I thought a look back at the age of 18 (half my lifetime ago) would be appropriate. It will debut on or about January 1st.

Doing some last minute shopping?

A page from the Duluth Trading Co. catalog. One of the more interesting catalog items that crossed my desk this holiday season...



Frank Gohlke exhibit at Amon Carter

I got a chance to check out the Frank Gohlke exhibit at Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum a few days ago. Gohlke is a landscape photographer from Wichita Falls. The exhibit features mostly black and white photography, emphasizing North America's landscape and humanity's interaction with it. Subject material includes landscapes from Wichita Falls and various other western locations, destruction caused by the volcano at Mt. St. Helens, and documentation (in color) of the Sudbury River in Massachussetts. If you live in Fort Worth or are just passing through, it's well worth a visit. But hurry, because it's almost over. The exhibit runs through January 6.

WSC

np: Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues

nr: John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath