I am a motorcoach:

And here is my final contribution to our January 2016 topic of slowing the world down (delayed a week due to the rude interruption of Jonas by way of mayhem he instigated on the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

We opened our topic with the indispensable practice of “living early.” But we all know even excellent planning can go awry. Case in point: I arrived twenty minutes early to pick up passengers in front of a hotel on a busy street in downtown St. Louis. On that occasion, “in front” turned out to be impossible. I was forced to pass the hotel and look for a way to make my way back. It seemed like an opportunity to use the extra time to familiarize myself with the neighborhood. A moment later, a street that looked inviting for circling back toward the hotel turned out to be commitment to a street that became an entry ramp onto a highway heading over the Mississippi River and into Illinois. My leisurely sightseeing trip around the block was suddenly converted into management of rush-hour traffic amid a lengthy succession of highway interchanges. A thought was loud: “I am no longer early!”

Two things slowed everything down in those moments. The first was ownership of skills. For this I have you-know-who to thank. Yes, Henry. His insistence on relentless due diligence in skills development insured the needed skills were in place to handle a rush of unexpected complexities. The second was prayer. It may be a challenge to imagine a motorcoach praying, but let me assure you, this one does. When it comes to slowing down the world, there’s no substitute for excellent planning, there’s no replacement for skills, and there’s no help more effective than prayers answered by the ultimate you-know-who. To my amazement I pulled up beside the hotel only a minute or two late. And to my relief I learned my passengers had been delayed by about fifteen minutes.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

sports News: Congratulations to the Francis Howell Lady Vikings, CHAMPIONS of the Central Bank I-44 Missouri Showcase Basketball Tournament! And if I can borrow a little identity here . . . this was my first championship delivery! (See Selfies section below.)

News of trains: Have you ever wondered where all the cabooses went? Well, a brakeman used to occupy the caboose. He had several jobs, including helping with switching and watching ahead for emergencies – in particular hotboxes, the overheating of wheel bearings that could start a fire. With changes in technology, the need for the brakeman lessened to the extent that the position no longer justified its cost, or that of maintenance of the caboose.

And while we’re on the subject of trains, surely you are also eager to know the identity of the largest steam engine ever built in the United States. It was the Union Pacific Big Boy. It was 1,250,000 lbs and 132 feet long. UP had been employing the costly utilization of multiple engines to move coal out of Ogden Utah, over Sherman Hill in Wyoming (elev. 8,000 ft ), 700 miles to North Plat, Nebraska, and on to steel mills in the east. They hired Alco in New York to build an engine that could do it on its own. The result was the Big Boy. Alco made twenty-five of them between 1941 and 1944. (Another example of the
American back-roads education . . . getting out and discovering the news! Check out Must Sees below.)

Selfies

Here I am with the members of the Francis Howell Vikings, who a few hours later secured their tournament championship.

How’s this for contrast? Accompanied by freezing temperatures, snow on the Pennsylvania Turnpike a week ago was two feet deep. But at Hidden Valley, the playground for skiers and snowboarders in Eureka, MO, the only snow to be found was on the slopes – the artificial variety. Unseasonably mild temperatures made for a brown landscape everywhere else.

When your travels take you anywhere near Cambridge, Ohio, there are two places you’ll be glad you went out of your way to visit:

Mosser Glass Company is an old-world artisan shop that visitors rave about and patrons from all over the world turn to for elegant art-glass products.

Cambridge Wooden Toy Co. is home of The Great American Steam Locomotive Museum.

A wooden scale replica of Union Pacific’s Big Boy, hand crafted by Brian Gray, owner/operator of the toy company and museum, and a treasury of facts and stories about steam locomotives and the era in which they thrived.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounding wins championships.” – Pat Summit

“Leadership is about having others look at you and gain confidence. If you’re in control, they’re in control.” – Tom Landry

Sign up to Subscribe to MotorCoach Blog

Name

Email*