Forced Retirement.

[crstagg]

In the Army 1965-85. Four assignments at Fort Bliss, Texas and one at White Sands Missile Range, NM. Lots of weekends at Cloudcroft/Ruidoso or the Gila Nat Forest including several father/son camping trips. Vacations thru northern NM into Colorado. Love the area particularly at this time of year. Son will be driving thru next week, tent camping, enroute to the Gila. He is in Colorado Springs getting his truck worked on, He has camped at a spot North of Chama just inside Colorado a couple of times last year and again this year.

[wwhall]

Charles,

Well we actually thought about doing that. Not to Chama but close by. My wife likes Pagosa Springs, and I like Santa Fe, but we decided against it. This year I could feel my 87 years so because I am the only docent that actually worked for a railroad, several of the docents have me on speed dial and I know the EDT 's that the train should be in cell phone range. And I also help with an education project. The trick today is getting the next generation interested in anything and if the "thing" is not on a cell phone or tablet, most young folks could care less. When I was a boy, a rite of passage was getting your Lionel Train. Now it is getting your cell phone.

Jerry

I'm a native of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains states and have lived in several places in the region--Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Kansas--in multiple places in a couple of those states.

I'll make a comment about airborne allergies that I learned from my allergist years ago: your allergies are a burden that generally follows you wherever you live. Some places may bother a person's allergies less when they move to and live in a certain location, but--after some time, up to even a few years--the person's allergies will begin adversely reacting to allergens in the new place. He called the phenomenon a "relocation respite," but usually not a permanent cure. And, just to complicate things further one's reaction to allergens change over time. In my example, when I was a young kid, I was deathly allergic to cats and horses. By the time that I was in my 30's, I was no longer allergic to cats, and had cats in the house for nearly 40 years. But, I'm still deathly allergic to horses. Go figure.

By the way, I'm quite familiar with the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR since its inception. I was actually in Chama when the first C&TS train arrived on September 6, 1970.

[frliss]

I have been wintering in South FL for about 15 years now. One of these days I'll make a permanent move. It's not as easy as it sounds.

BTW I am finding that the FEC doesn't hold a candle to CSX.

Fred