“You can buy children and grandchildren anything in the world, but nothing compares to the memories you create with them."
Recently, Cecile and I made last minute plans to hook up with our daughter Michelle and our granddaughters Lyla and Emmy for a steam engine train ride on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad (BJWRR) through Oak Meadow and Vasona Parks in Los Gatos. We used to take Michelle and our son Jason there when they were kids. We found it to be a delightful experience for children and adults alike. Watching the kids get on with their loved ones with a sense of breathless joy steals your heart. Everyone, even at a bit of a distance wave to the passengers as if to say, right on, have a great ride. Of course the children and adults wave back. There is a certain Disney feel to riding in the cars being pulled by the 1/3 scale-sized locomotive as the horn from the conductor sounds off while leaving the station.
Speaking of Disney, few people know the BJWRR almost became part of Disneyland. According to Peter G. Panacy, its’ CEO, in the early 1950s, Walt Disney himself paid a visit to Billy Jones’ ranch in Los Gatos where Jones was running his Wildcat Railroad since 1943. Disney was looking for pieces to build up what would later become America’s iconic amusement park and had heard of Jones’ railroad. A fellow train buff himself, Disney initially thought the Wildcat Railroad would be a worthy addition, but later decided it would be too small for what he had envisioned. Disney and Jones remained friends for years and Jones was invited to be a guest engineer on the Disneyland Railroad shortly after its completion. After our little adventure, we took the girls to a delicious brunch at Effie’s. We ate outside in the front veranda and the waitress oohed and aahed at the baby sisters, Lyla and Emmy, and encouraged another waitress to stop by our table.
Excerpts from the poem, the “Train of Life,” by Jean d’Ormesson, a metaphor for enjoying your life now with your loved ones so when your time is up you will leave behind treasured memories of your journey.
"At birth we board the train and meet our parents and grandparents, and believe they will always travel by our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone.
As time goes by, other people will board the train and they will be significant i.e., our siblings, friends, children, grandchildren, volunteers, and even the love of our life.
Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others will go so unnoticed that we don’t realize they vacated their seats. This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells…
The mystery to everyone is, we do not know which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live the best way, love…, and offer the best of who we are…because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty we should leave behind beautiful memories on the train of life.”
Photo Credit: From the BJWRR Collection of Billy Jones (left) and Walt Disney (right) standing next to Jones’ famous 2-pot steam locomotive. Heartfelt gratitude to the volunteers who take care of and conductor the trains for many to enjoy including my old friend and master tinkerer Anthony (Tony) Hoffman.
