All Aboard

Substitute a glass of cubes, vodka, tonic and some take-out Indian food on the other side of this display window and the phrase, "Like father, like son," might come to mind.

Mr. O is all about the trains. "Choo-choo trains," to be exact.

For much of my childhood, I had an affection for all vehicles sporting sirens and lights. I also was lucky enough to live within sight from my parents' bedroom window of a busy street with frequent emergency vehicle sightings.

So, in the middle of the night, when emergencies were happening, the sirens would wake me and I would sprint across the upstairs, through my parents' room and watch for the lights passing in the distance.

Today, Mr. O lives probably 500 yards from a train track with frequent freight train traffic. When you look through the trees in the park that separates our house from the tracks, you can catch a couple train cars at a time speeding by. And, at about 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., the horns sound in the distance and the window panes start to rattle, just a bit. A few nights back, I heard Mr. O say from his bed, "choo choo train, choo choo train."

Once those bars come off his bed, he'll be sprinting to the window... like father, like son.