PA Trip - Day 3

Strasburg

One of the aspects of my trip that I was most looking forward to was a visit to the legendary Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, sort of a Mecca for railfans.

All of the displays are fascinating, but the highlight of the visit for me was seeing Pennsy 5901, the last surviving Electro-Motive Division E7A locomotive in existence.

As you can see, I couldn't resist the urge to go all "touristy" and have my picture taken with this beautiful locomotive, wearing the famous Pennsy Tuscan Red livery.

"All aboad!"

And, of course, my wingman couldn't resist to urge any better than I could...






When we were done at the museum, Skip and I went across the street and rode the
19th Century Limited Excursion on the Strasburg Railroad, traveling from Strasburg
to Paradise, PA and back (Pennsylvania Dutch country).

"The ride was fun, but the conductor's lounge act was a little corny."

I know, but that's the way it is with tour guides pretty much everywhere...

Feast Days

Today is the feast day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, one of the most significant spiritual figures of modern times. Popularly known as "The Little Flower," St. Thérèse's autobiography is widely read and beloved.

Thérèse became a Discalced Carmelite nun 
at just age 15, and died from tuberculosis when she was just 24 on September 30, 1897, after considerable suffering. Her writings about her illness are among her most powerful.

Thérèse was named a Doctor of the Church 
in 1997 by Pope St. John Paul II. Among her patronages she is the patron of those who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

St. Jerome, by Jusepe de Ribera

Some days are busier than others when I'm traveling, and yesterday's trip to Strasburg certainly made for a full one. As a result, I didn't remember to do my due diligence for yesterday's entry and thus overlooked that yesterday was the feast of St. Jerome.

A renowned orator as well as an intellectual, Jerome was one of the Church's most prolific writers and scholars. In particular his translation of the Bible into Latin was a profoundly influential achievement.

Jerome was one of the four original Doctors of the Church. He is the patron of librarians, translators, archaeologists, and students.

Irony Much, Mrs. Clinton?

From the pen of Henry Payne, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

One of the more interesting aspects of my friendship with Skip is that although we have a lot of common interests our taste in music couldn't be more different. There is quite a bit of good-natured back-and-forth about that kind of thing, but since I'm Skip's guest for this visit he gets to control the radio in the car.

On the drive over to the restaurant where we were having dinner last night, I heard
a beautiful bit of music on the XM radio station he listens to (some kind of New Age-y programming). When I mentioned that I liked it and would include it in the blog, Skip scoffed at the notion, since he knows my short-term memory isn't the greatest.

He was wrong in this instance, though. The song was called
"Tally's Lullaby," by pianist and composer Karen Marie Garrett.
The song is included on her 2007 album It's About the Rose, and
I had no difficulty finding it.

One of the things I most enjoy about doing that sort of detective work is all the cool stories I stumble across along the way. This time, in addition to Karen's own remarkable story, I also learned about an amazing piece author T.M. Wright wrote in response to the song.
I cried when I read it, and you might well have a similar reaction.

Oh, and one more cool thing: Wright's initials stand for "Terrance Michael," which just happen to be my first and middle names as well.

Today's send-off is the official album track, from Karen's YouTube channel. Enjoy...