Railroad Cars & Fantasies

As a child, I loved to read.  One of my earliest recollections is of a book titled The Boxcar Children.  Gertrude Chandler Warner penned the original Boxcar Children in 1924.  The book was reissued in 1942 and is the keystone for a long series of Boxcar Children books.  If you are not familiar with the story it is the tale of 4 orphaned children who make a home for themselves in an abandoned box car in the forest.

I can't remember exactly how old I was when I was first introduced to the story, but it packed a punch with my impressionable young mind.  I spent many hours fantasizing about what life in an abandoned railroad car without adult supervision might be like.  In my fantasies the children were always smart and resourceful.  The adults, not so much.

Several weeks ago The Kid and I were out exploring our new neighborhood when we came across this scene.



I suspect that this little hunting camp belongs to some resourceful adult and not four orphaned children.  It is a caboose, not a box car.  But sitting alone, at the edge of the forest, on a beautiful fall afternoon I couldn't help but think of all the things it could be.