CHOO CHOO TRAIN DREAMS

I have been researching various aspects of the history of Puyallup. This is partly due to the dream I had of writing as a guest columnist, every four or five weeks for a year, for the Puyallup Herald. I saw the call for such writers and worked hard to meet their deadline for sample columns and a cover letter. The day prior to the deadline, I realized that I really did not want to write within the constraints that they had constructed for these guest columnists, and hated all of the research and preparation for the submission. I didn't hate the research and preparation itself, only the fact that it was being done for this particular project that I could never really "get behind." I did enjoy the research, the discipline of writing, the approach of the deadline. I am going to use some of the research in some poems and in some pieces I have loosely outlined. So, I don't feel like any of it was wasted time.

I have also been researching elements of Puyallup's history because I am interested in some of those elements for personal reasons. I am fascinated by the trains that run through Puyallup almost constantly. We can hear trains throughout the day and night. The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 led to the creation of the transcontinental railroads, which subsequently led to the laying of tracks throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Puyallup.

I have also been photographing the trains whenever the child and I encounter them on our wanderings through town.

Our many encounters with trains have led the child to create a game. Whenever the child and I pull the car into the driveway, the child starts yelling, "Daddy, choo choo train coming. Hurry. Hurry." Once we leave the car, we run as fast as we can to the door, unlock it, rush inside, and slam the door closed. Then the child exclaims, "That was close one." Occasionally, the game continues in the house, with me playing the train which is "chasing" and the child running around screaming. The child thoroughly enjoys the chase. The child also thoroughly enjoys listening for trains and letting us know that they "are coming." She is hearing trains well before I can discern their whistles.

All in all, a lot of fun. A good dream.