Hi, Train!

Tonight I was eating supper on the porch swing. A little boy was playing outside the church across the street. "Hi, Train! Hi, Train!" He waved and yelled, so very hopeful.

In the last hour, at least six trains have gone by a short block from my house. I've heard estimates of 50-75 trains a day on these tracks. I've tried to count, but they are such background noise I don't even hear them anymore unless I'm outside trying to carry on a conversation or tell stories. A friend who grew up near train tracks said that it was always disturbing when the regular trains didn't go by--his whole family would be awake in the middle of the night, vaguely aware that something was wrong when a scheduled train didn't pass.

Did you notice what was in the wagon in the middle picture? Hope for no derailments!

Queen Berta at the Depot

The World Premiere of Queen Berta and King Pippin is set! That is, the first public performance will be Friday, February 15 at 8:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Visitor's Center (the former Union Pacific Depot), at the corner of Locust and N. 2nd St. in North Lawrence. You heard it here.

I've done five or six performances at the depot (I can't get myself to call it the Visitor's Center). It's a beautiful building on the outside, a classic old train station, with nice landscaping. Inside, it's okay. The floor is brown linoleum. Very brown. There are various light settings, so it's not stark fluorescent, and I usually bring a small oriental rug and a table to serve as a set and help soften the institutional feel to the place.

Though the trains don't stop at the station, they do go by. Lots of them, mostly full of coal or other heavy freight. I live nearby and every time they pass, the house shakes. I don't know how many per day because I no longer notice them when I'm at home, but the folks at the depot told me there were 50-75. I do notice when I'm performing there or in my backyard and sometimes when I'm on the phone inside the house. When I'm telling Medieval stories, the sound is more than a bit anachronistic. My hope is that this story will be compelling enough that nobody notices.