Trainspotting with the Yellow Kid
Last night we had dinner with the Pirates at Picante, then the lot of us went to a playground the Pirates knew near Aquatic Park, where we could do a little trainspotting. Trains are Baby Dog’s new thing, but so far she’s only seen them in books or the miniature steam version at Tilden Park. We wanted her to see a great big air-fouling, plains-despoiling, buffalo-eradicating freight train. This particular playground is set right behind a heavily traveled line of track, and Mama Pirate promised trains went by on no more than fifteen minute intervals. As it turned out, I think it was more frequent than that. We couldn’t have been there more than half an hour, but we saw four Amtrak trains and one small freight train. Baby Dog got to see them very clearly as they passed by, and was most excited. It was a shame that there wasn’t a good long freight train with all the cars she’s learned from her books (cattle, tank, gondola, box, hopper, tender, engine, caboose), but one can’t have everything.
As almost a by-product of the trainspotting trip, Baby Dog actually played in the playground. She showed more interest in trying out rides and playing with toys than she ever has before, at least in my presence. She went on both baby swings and (closely monitored) big kid swings. She went down the slide a bunch of times. She played in a sandbox with Baby Pirate.
We also – and I hesitate to post about this because it’s mean of me to say but not so mean I still can’t help finding it funny – met a child who was a dead ringer for The Yellow Kid, right down to the Deliverance hair style and the peculiar nightshirt garment (though the kid we met was in pink or something rather than yellow). As we left the playground I said, “Is it just me or was that The Yellow Kid?” The Pirates, who know their comic strip history, laughed and agreed. Mama Dog, who doesn’t, was nonplussed. When we got home, I Googled this Image and she burst out laughing because no, it wasn’t just me.
As almost a by-product of the trainspotting trip, Baby Dog actually played in the playground. She showed more interest in trying out rides and playing with toys than she ever has before, at least in my presence. She went on both baby swings and (closely monitored) big kid swings. She went down the slide a bunch of times. She played in a sandbox with Baby Pirate.
We also – and I hesitate to post about this because it’s mean of me to say but not so mean I still can’t help finding it funny – met a child who was a dead ringer for The Yellow Kid, right down to the Deliverance hair style and the peculiar nightshirt garment (though the kid we met was in pink or something rather than yellow). As we left the playground I said, “Is it just me or was that The Yellow Kid?” The Pirates, who know their comic strip history, laughed and agreed. Mama Dog, who doesn’t, was nonplussed. When we got home, I Googled this Image and she burst out laughing because no, it wasn’t just me.
posted by PapaDogDuvalier | 5:21 PM
1 Comments:
I was afraid that if Baby Dog got too close to the Yellow Kid, she might get fleas or lice. The poor child looked like some unfortunate urchin out of a Charles Dickens novel!
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