HNT - A Really Useful Day Trip

Last Friday we took a day trip out to St. Thomas (about half an hour outside of London, ON), to visit Thomas in the "Day Out with Thomas" event. It's basically a day where you get to meet Thomas the Tank Engine and go for a ride on him.

Of course, when I mentioned that we'd be riding on Thomas, Alexander immediately corrected me. "No, Daddio," he said. "We're riding on Annie and Clarabel, not on Thomas" (Annie and Clarabel, of course, being the two coaches he often lugs around) As often happens, I stood corrected.

This week's HNT post is, simply enough, a shot I took of myself standing in front of Thomas.

Beauty, eh?

And just for fun, here are some other shots taken that day.

Thomas rolls into the station as Alexander and I cheer

And below is a family shot of us during the 20 minute train ride. I loved the fact that the conductors (two of them standing behind us) were dressed perfectly for the part they played. Interestingly enough the two gentleman standing behind us in the picture spent a good part of the journey arguing about whether or not global warming was actually occurring.

I thought that on a Thomas ride they should be arguing over who the most useful engine was that day. (My vote would have been for Thomas. After all, he made all the children -- particularly me -- very happy that day)

And it really is a good thing that Sir Topham Hatt didn't find out that these two guys were arguing so insistently during the train ride instead of playing their roles. If he found out, there certainly would have been hell to pay.

No, seriously, has anyone besides me ever wondered about the anal retentive tendencies about the head of the railroad Sir Topham Hatt? Doing a tiny bit of research, I found out that he was originally known as The Fat Controller.

It's a bit more fitting of a name for this Type A personality who really pushes those engines to work harder and is very much a big controller. Sure, you have to work hard and give it your best, but there's got to be room for balance. I mean, he rarely gives anyone a break and is all work, no play. He's definitely the kind of boss that most people would want to avoid and is likely responsible for the need for unions to develop.

I think that my own nickname for this this guy -- Sir Crackem' Whip -- is an even more fitting name.

But then again, I spend too much time analyzing kid's television programs.