Better Than Any Train Ride
A daughter's remembrance91 total reviews
Comment from Halfree
I read this with unfailing interest. It is a wonderful bit of writing. Your students were blessed to have you as a teacher. It a wonderful tribute to your father..Both of you were blessed. That all aside, your writing is superb, Please keep at it.
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I read this with unfailing interest. It is a wonderful bit of writing. Your students were blessed to have you as a teacher. It a wonderful tribute to your father..Both of you were blessed. That all aside, your writing is superb, Please keep at it.
Comment Written 22-Apr-2010
Comment from El.Marjie
I just finished Better than Any Train Ride. What a great tribute to your father this is, and I'm sure you've been glad you wrote it, many times. Though you didn't get to take that train ride, your father showed you the wide wide world of travel through books. What a treasure he gave you. Thank you for sharing this very personal piece. I'm glad I took time to read it. Best Wishes, Marjie
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I just finished Better than Any Train Ride. What a great tribute to your father this is, and I'm sure you've been glad you wrote it, many times. Though you didn't get to take that train ride, your father showed you the wide wide world of travel through books. What a treasure he gave you. Thank you for sharing this very personal piece. I'm glad I took time to read it. Best Wishes, Marjie
Comment Written 21-Feb-2010
Comment from Denco
This is a beautiful tribute to a man who it appears was a loving and caring father. He shared much with his child, including what many parents find it difficult to share, himself. This is nicely written with a mix of dialogue and narrative and I got to feel like I knew both father and daughter, and understood what she missed most when he died.
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This is a beautiful tribute to a man who it appears was a loving and caring father. He shared much with his child, including what many parents find it difficult to share, himself. This is nicely written with a mix of dialogue and narrative and I got to feel like I knew both father and daughter, and understood what she missed most when he died.
Comment Written 17-Feb-2010
Comment from popo1747
I can see why you won a contest with this story. I appreciate the stories of lives lived in abundance and filled with love. The deep and unyielding adoration you had for your father is so apparent. I felt tearful at times, when reading. The story is so real and personal. Thanks for sharing
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I can see why you won a contest with this story. I appreciate the stories of lives lived in abundance and filled with love. The deep and unyielding adoration you had for your father is so apparent. I felt tearful at times, when reading. The story is so real and personal. Thanks for sharing
Comment Written 04-Feb-2010
Comment from ammajo
What a moving testament to the power of love between father and daughter. Your writing is so visual, I could imagine each of your experiences. Thank you for reminding us to enjoy every day with those we love!
reply by the author on 09-Dec-2009
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What a moving testament to the power of love between father and daughter. Your writing is so visual, I could imagine each of your experiences. Thank you for reminding us to enjoy every day with those we love!
Comment Written 08-Dec-2009
reply by the author on 09-Dec-2009
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Thank you ever so much, Friend! This is my favorite tribute to my father. diane
Comment from sgalletti
Wow! I fell upon this by accident and am new and navigating around the site. I'm also in education, My father passed away 3 years ago. My style of writing (which I am working on developing) is similar to yours. I totally related to this so much that I cried. Last night, my husband and I went to a concert by the Air Force Band at our church. They ended with a medley of service tunes and asked people to stand up when their tunes were played. When "Anchors Away" came on and I couldn't see my dad stand up, I broke into tears. You evoked a great deal of emotion from me in what you wrote. I'm giving you one of my only two 6's because of the style and the specific incidents described (as well as the honesty) that pulled me into the story immediately and kept me there.
reply by the author on 15-May-2009
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Wow! I fell upon this by accident and am new and navigating around the site. I'm also in education, My father passed away 3 years ago. My style of writing (which I am working on developing) is similar to yours. I totally related to this so much that I cried. Last night, my husband and I went to a concert by the Air Force Band at our church. They ended with a medley of service tunes and asked people to stand up when their tunes were played. When "Anchors Away" came on and I couldn't see my dad stand up, I broke into tears. You evoked a great deal of emotion from me in what you wrote. I'm giving you one of my only two 6's because of the style and the specific incidents described (as well as the honesty) that pulled me into the story immediately and kept me there.
Comment Written 15-May-2009
reply by the author on 15-May-2009
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Hello! I am so honored that you enjoyed this offering. It is one of my favorites, if not my favorite. I have such wonderful and tender memories of my father...I really do miss him every day. Do stop by again! Thank you ever so much! diane
Comment from Aislynn Faire
This is a beautiful piece of writing! You capture so well the peace of the moment. I felt the longing with you at the end--that same longing for past plans and promises that never quite took shape ...
My favorite line:
"You need to know the lay of the land and where your forefathers lived and fought to understand this country's history and her people."
Your inclusion of it gave the memoir a more forceful impact.
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This is a beautiful piece of writing! You capture so well the peace of the moment. I felt the longing with you at the end--that same longing for past plans and promises that never quite took shape ...
My favorite line:
"You need to know the lay of the land and where your forefathers lived and fought to understand this country's history and her people."
Your inclusion of it gave the memoir a more forceful impact.
Comment Written 21-Oct-2008
Comment from taxi777
Some of the anecdotal references were over my head, but that's my own fault with a limited education. The piece was so well written of course. A nice heartfelt story I can relate to with my Father at the same point in life.
Very nice.
Pete
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2008
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Some of the anecdotal references were over my head, but that's my own fault with a limited education. The piece was so well written of course. A nice heartfelt story I can relate to with my Father at the same point in life.
Very nice.
Pete
Comment Written 10-Aug-2008
reply by the author on 10-Aug-2008
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Hello Pete! So pleased you stopped by and enjoyed my offering. This is my favorite tribut to my father. Take Care...diane
Comment from Miss Laurie
A very warm heartfelt story.
It's too bad you didn't get that train ride, though. I'm not sure where you lived. My cousin is a statiomaster for the capecod rail and it is a beautiful ride...but then again, memories are far better with a loved one.
Take Care, Diner
Laurie
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A very warm heartfelt story.
It's too bad you didn't get that train ride, though. I'm not sure where you lived. My cousin is a statiomaster for the capecod rail and it is a beautiful ride...but then again, memories are far better with a loved one.
Take Care, Diner
Laurie
Comment Written 06-Aug-2008
Comment from Pen&Ink
Hey Mrs. KT,
I almost called you Diner, but I know that privelege is reserved for only one person. So, I won't go there.
This is a nice story. The fact that I cherish most anything written which involves trains, railroads, and American history makes me a bit biased, but that's okay. I can still be reasonable objective.
When I think about it, I might have learned the bulk of my history from my dad. Perhaps it was his instilling within me a love of history that really made the difference. We read "The Wreck of the Hesperus" and "Trees" by Joyce Killmer. He was thrilled when I came home from school and told him that I had to memorize that verse. He had done the same thing when he was in school. Along about the eighth grade Dad and I sat together as I struggled with the memoization of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. I still read it whenever I have the chance, just as I read Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" every Christmas.
In 1953, we took a train ride together when I was six. He awakened me to point out a steam locomotice passing on an adjacent track. We were in the dome car and I looked down on the boiler and smokestack as it lumbered past. Where I lived steam had almost disappeared by that time. He made sure I saw a real steam engine operating in revenue service. In 1960, he put me on that same Milwaukee Road passenger train, and I rode it from Tacoma to Butte all by my lonesome. Less than a year later, the Olympian Hiawatha was discontinued, leaving nothing but memories in its wake.
We had our train ride together, and I'll never forget it. Dad made his last run in 1997, just after Christmas. I still listen to train whistles and wonder where they might be going. Railroads built this nation. Not many people remember that bit of history. The railroads made the history possible.
You can tell I liked your story. I wouldn't have written this much if your tale hadn't moved me. Thanks.
Ray
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Hey Mrs. KT,
I almost called you Diner, but I know that privelege is reserved for only one person. So, I won't go there.
This is a nice story. The fact that I cherish most anything written which involves trains, railroads, and American history makes me a bit biased, but that's okay. I can still be reasonable objective.
When I think about it, I might have learned the bulk of my history from my dad. Perhaps it was his instilling within me a love of history that really made the difference. We read "The Wreck of the Hesperus" and "Trees" by Joyce Killmer. He was thrilled when I came home from school and told him that I had to memorize that verse. He had done the same thing when he was in school. Along about the eighth grade Dad and I sat together as I struggled with the memoization of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. I still read it whenever I have the chance, just as I read Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" every Christmas.
In 1953, we took a train ride together when I was six. He awakened me to point out a steam locomotice passing on an adjacent track. We were in the dome car and I looked down on the boiler and smokestack as it lumbered past. Where I lived steam had almost disappeared by that time. He made sure I saw a real steam engine operating in revenue service. In 1960, he put me on that same Milwaukee Road passenger train, and I rode it from Tacoma to Butte all by my lonesome. Less than a year later, the Olympian Hiawatha was discontinued, leaving nothing but memories in its wake.
We had our train ride together, and I'll never forget it. Dad made his last run in 1997, just after Christmas. I still listen to train whistles and wonder where they might be going. Railroads built this nation. Not many people remember that bit of history. The railroads made the history possible.
You can tell I liked your story. I wouldn't have written this much if your tale hadn't moved me. Thanks.
Ray
Comment Written 29-Jul-2008
