A few years ago, my husband and I decided to take a train trip to San Francisco. The trip got off to a slow start when we got to the station and they told us the train was going to be an hour late. We wandered around a little, had some coffee and waited for the train to arrive. We finally left two hours late.
As we got settled into our cabin, the announcement came over the address system that there was construction on the track and there was a mandatory lower speed being enforced.
Soon after we pulled through Tacoma, the train stopped and an ambulance met us. A woman on board was suffering from chest pains. The paramedics checked her out, decided she was fine and the train got back under way. By that time, it was obvious we weren't arriving at 8:30 the next morning. I was relieved, we could sleep in a little.
We woke the next morning around 9:00. The train was stopped at a station in a small town in northern California. I didn't think anything of it, we had been stopping momentarily at small stations over the entire trip. I started to get concerned when I finished dressing and the train was still at the station. About that time they came on the address system and said "For those of you who are just waking up, we've been sitting here since 5am." There had been a minor derailment down the track from us and we were stuck there until they could bring a crane down from Oregon to clear the tracks. We wouldn't be leaving before eleven at the earliest.
We had breakfast and then decided to wander the small town. We got an espresso from a stand they opened especially for the train and browsed a couple of stores that were open on Sunday morning for the same reason. Then we decided to check out the doll store.
I walked in the door and froze. It's called Pediophobia, the fear of dolls. I don't have it badly and can usually deal with it. I'm not afraid of all dolls, I don't run screaming from Barbie and stuffed animals don't bother me. In fact, I have a surprisingly large collection of stuffed Eeyores. It's the eyes. Dolls with glass eyes give me the willies. All the dolls in that place were set up to be looking at the front door. I walked in, saw all those dolls looking at me and backed back out. "Nope."
The train finally started again around noon. We arrived in San Francisco at midnight, a full 15.5 hours late. For a trip that was only supposed to last 22 hours, that's a long delay. We had fun though, most of the time. Except for those infernal dolls.
As we got settled into our cabin, the announcement came over the address system that there was construction on the track and there was a mandatory lower speed being enforced.
Soon after we pulled through Tacoma, the train stopped and an ambulance met us. A woman on board was suffering from chest pains. The paramedics checked her out, decided she was fine and the train got back under way. By that time, it was obvious we weren't arriving at 8:30 the next morning. I was relieved, we could sleep in a little.
We woke the next morning around 9:00. The train was stopped at a station in a small town in northern California. I didn't think anything of it, we had been stopping momentarily at small stations over the entire trip. I started to get concerned when I finished dressing and the train was still at the station. About that time they came on the address system and said "For those of you who are just waking up, we've been sitting here since 5am." There had been a minor derailment down the track from us and we were stuck there until they could bring a crane down from Oregon to clear the tracks. We wouldn't be leaving before eleven at the earliest.
We had breakfast and then decided to wander the small town. We got an espresso from a stand they opened especially for the train and browsed a couple of stores that were open on Sunday morning for the same reason. Then we decided to check out the doll store.
I walked in the door and froze. It's called Pediophobia, the fear of dolls. I don't have it badly and can usually deal with it. I'm not afraid of all dolls, I don't run screaming from Barbie and stuffed animals don't bother me. In fact, I have a surprisingly large collection of stuffed Eeyores. It's the eyes. Dolls with glass eyes give me the willies. All the dolls in that place were set up to be looking at the front door. I walked in, saw all those dolls looking at me and backed back out. "Nope."
The train finally started again around noon. We arrived in San Francisco at midnight, a full 15.5 hours late. For a trip that was only supposed to last 22 hours, that's a long delay. We had fun though, most of the time. Except for those infernal dolls.
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