Thinking a little more about Thomas the Tank Engine.....

While caught in the usual grid-lock under the railroad tracks this morning, I remembered how Chuck and I would stand under the tracks waiting for trains to pass over. Back in the Thomas days, my fear was not so much that Thomas and his friends would scare the boys. No, I was afraid they would see trains as so benign that I was constantly making them stand farther back from the tracks than necessary. Unlike the experts in the British study, I was the scold who told them, “Real trains don’t talk and smile. Real trains will kill you if you aren’t careful.” Last spring, the boys and I waited along the tracks for an antique steam engine to pass by. It was fun, but my stomach was in a bit of a knot the whole time, worrying about the boys (13 and 8 at the time) getting to close to the tracks. I’ll admit it - I’m afraid of trains. And it wasn’t Thomas that scared me.