well on our way to hillbilly village

today we went to trains 2008! it is the third such show we have been to this year, what with a husband who aspires to be one of those "train people" and a boy who runs around all day yelling "choo choo, all aboard!", it was little wonder that we found ourselves deep in the heart of burnaby, basking in the glow of the gymnasium lights. this show was supposed to be better than the others, it was "the" show of the year. i was underwhelmed, if that's a word.

still, there were trains! and they "choo chooed!" so for the boy it was a pretty good time, and really who are we kidding, it was because of him that we went anyway.

one thing that always strikes me as odd at these things though is how abrasive the train men are. sure they are old, having taken up trains as a way to pass the time in their retirement, and so they are more prone to grouchiness, but still, it is a train show with a kidz zone (as a society we really have to stop doing that), there are going to be kids. there were sideways glares and downward smiles at every corner. turns out they weren't super cool with the whole stroller thing. i guess i don't blame them, they are done with kids, they have moved on to trains, and this isn't a game, it is serious business. they don't need little people running around making things fun, someone might have a heart attack.

as you can imagine there was a lot of shop talk, and if you think computer people are the ultimate geeks, you have obviously never been to a train show. however, for all their grouchiness (and i should be fair here and say that not everyone was crotchety, in fact some people were over the top friendly and interactive with cohen), i have to hand it to them, they put a lot of work into these layouts and have found something to keep them smiling (when there is no stroller around, presumably), so good for them. still, i secretly hope that marko doesn't become one of them, although i think he is already well on his way.