show

nteresting train show. For me, it started at 5am when I’m standing alone in the donut shop, that is alone but for the wizened old homeless guy standing right at my shoulder. “You into… trains?” he hiccuped.  I thought, “Yeah, except for the hobo part”. Placed my order quick (you’ll notice the lack of selection this time) and blew out of there. The lady behind the counter didn’t like like the sort to take this sort of shit (along Rt 50, she probably has practice). Anyway, following our flawless setup at the Volusia County Fairgrounds (thanks, guys. You earned your […]

‘m not sure how to write this show report up. I could start with a description of getting up at 5am Saturday, a quick shower, a drive to the donut shop to pick up treats for the setup crew, and then hissing through empty streets in moderate rains, hoping it would let up before it was time to unload the trailer I would shortly be rendezvousing with for setup. Or the host of problems we faced, from inexplicable radio problems to a dead section of track to some scenery problems here and there. We should have brought the “Robert” button. […]

o the show day started auspiciously. First, I got panhandled by a bum outside the donut shop at 5:30am : “Gimme a donut”. Then, in the pre-dawn darkness, I swung into the fairgrounds access road only to find a gate closed against me – I skidded and stopped in time, but if I’d hit that chainlink mesh I could have severely strained myself. Then it was touch and go, getting the trailer down the right road to the dock so we could get ready to set up. But Jeff handled it eighteen-foot show barge right onto the spot, we had […]

he night before the show. Getting a full eight is very important before the early morning setup, the all-day running, tear-down and take-home. Which is why I pulled a “Zach” and got about two hours of snooze. Actually, I hit the bed early enough but woke up in the middle of the might, my mind tumbling with club membership issues, show issues, and the upcoming convention next weekend (which I have to host operations for twenty hours AND give a clinic DURING a possible hurricane). So yes, a lot of my mind. The cats woke me up before the alarm […]

f you want to know what it feels like to be a astronaut flying away from Earth, into deep space, try getting to the Deland Fairgrounds at 5:30 AM. I just sat in my car and sighed, thinking my lofty thoughts. One thought – I sure overestimated my travel time. Another thought – I wish I’d brought a book. We got good attendance for setup, other than the Polish Precision Rifle Drill Team performance. You see, it’s quite simple. Two people hold the layout in place. Four people, christened One, Two, Three and Four each take a called-out leg type […]

t’s all about rules, I guess. Weekend of a stress-inducing show – stressful because I wasn’t allowed to lift more than five pounds with my right hand due to post-surgery rules. This made me pretty useless, so I got the useless job of being the “show boss” (i.e, supervisor). Without Steve there (he was on another of his many vacations) and no prior show boss in attendance, I was rather on my own. Oh, I’ve done just about ever show we’ve attended by not as the “official” show boss. My team got there at 7pm (well, most of it, anyway). […]