Saturday, August 27, 2011

At The Museum

At the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs:

(I was walking through the exhibit about Lincoln's funeral train, looking at items in cases when a small boy, no more than three spots a replica of the gun used to Assassinate Lincoln)

Small Boy (In a whisper) I want one of those for my birthday.

Maybe he thought I'd put in a word for him with mum. It was quite a small gun, so perhaps he thought it was a toy (which is kind of the problem with small children and weapons, but that's another post).



I'm not an overly sentimental sort, but being able to see Lincoln's rocking chair got to me. Maybe I spent too many years living in Illinois or something, but I have a soft spot for old Abe.

At the moment, the museum is a bit moved about due to all the flooding of late. Basement items have been moved to higher ground, but that meant the train simulator was closed. That was a bummer, I mean why go all the way to Iowa if you can't drive the train? Hopefully all will be back in place soon. The museum is free of charge, but they can use all the donations they can get. The staff are all former UP employees, and they know a lot about the subject of railroads-and they are happy to share that knowledge.


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