Trains::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This morning one of the peculiar things to Baton Rouge or Louisiana happened. For whatever reason, this town allows trains to just park in town. So a mile long train of boxcars and tankers will just be idle on a line that crosses every east/west access to downtown or out of town no matter where you are. One such track runs within 15 or 20 feet of the JFO. this morning at 7:05 am this train pulled into a slot that blocked every entry street to the JFO from the west. So the vast bulk of the 2,000 people in the JFO could not get to work. Now comes the fun part. Dozens of people went crazy..... it is the only way I can describe it.. simply they drove down the wrong way on the bumper to bumper street.. pulled down the railroad right of way and parked.. then.. either climbed through the train at a coupling or... crawled UNDER the damn thing between the wheels. This has taken southern idiocy to new heights... in my own mind it is a case of evolution in action.. if the train moves, there are fewer in the breeding pool to pass along those genes............


It was 88 degrees over the weekend a couple days. This prompted a walk along the levee and a discussion of spring flowers. I counted over 40 species flowering including escapees. Over my head are some morning glories.. but there were also Lantana and a couple of trees with huge clumps of Wysteria in them. Behind me the Mississippi, it just keeps rolling along. The barges are interesting to watch..... smashed cars going north and construction materials going south. I would wish everyone could see the Azaelas blooming as this area is a riot of those colors of whites and pinks and flaming reds.

My class begins monday with a travel day on sunday and friday. The trip has turned into a paperwork nightmare with regualtions I was not aware of for checking out of a disaster, checking into class, being redeployed both places (first class then disaster) and then checking back in when I get here... what a mess.. took most of the morning and will take me a large part of saturday to check out as I have to turn in all my equipment and you cannot imagine how much hardware has gone under my signature between the morgue and the JFO..........