An Unexpected Present on the Amtrak Train to DC
Imagine you are schlepping a bulbous suitcase down the stairs in New York's Penn Station on Christmas Eve, squeezing through hundreds of stressed travelers to board the train for DC. Imagine you're sweaty and cold at the same time, irritable and achy, overwhelmed and jostled, when suddenly:
HAPPINESS!
Look below to see the conductor who greeted us!
People of the world, how can you NOT smile upon seeing such a sweet smile, shiny smooth head, and iridescent red bow on top???
My "little" brother (you know, the 6'6" one) turned to me with a grin and laughed, "This just goes to show how a small gift can make a big difference!"
And so as the year draws to a close and the new year beckons our New Year's resolutions, let's remember this: with new and different actions come new and different outcomes. It IS worthwhile to dive into something you've never done before (you know, like put a jolly Christmas bow on your head for 1,000 people to see), because tiny gestures have power to create great joy!
Big thanks to Kevin K. of Amtrak for allowing me to photograph his pretty bow, and gratitude to Amtrak for employing such delightful folks.
To learn about the liminal space found on trains, click that link...
The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
That's hilarious! I think that this is a funny way to great people!
Haha, I think that the guy in the background is much more interesting than the man with the bow on his head! Haha really mad me chuckle! I guess I am just a different kind of person!
Haha, I laughed first because of the awesome bow on his head, then I laughed even harder after looking at the guy in the background.
That was nice of him to do that. Your brother must have been surprised because nothing like this happens in CA!
Wow! I thought this was an amazing! You never really see conductor's wearing a red bow on their heads. I thought it was also extremely generous of him to do this. I wish I could have been there to see it. It must have been fun!
That looks like a perfect gift to give someone and if he asks you to do something, how can you say no to a conductor with a bow on his head. Really puts you in the holiday spirits, more people should be as cool and creative as this guy.
That is very nice of Kevin K. to do soemthing like that. It is true a small act like that change completely change someone's day for the better.
That's really cool that the conducter put a bow on his head, it would have made me laugh as well.
What a nice surprise! Now-a-days the smallest things can make the biggest difference!
That was pretty cool of the conductor to do that but, that smile looks kind of half-hearted for some reason. It was funny to see how everyone was looking at him too!!!
Awesome!! There should definitely be more people like this in life! So glad you took the time to blog this. It's such a great alternative to the sea of negativity that can be found some days in the travel blogging world.
I like the image of the Christmas bow on his head. How cute!
Haha. That's nice of the conducter. He sure might have brigntened other people's day's :D