By Tim Falendysz (Mr. F.)

Every adventure always have more than you could bargain, it is the unexpected adventures that make the trips even more enjoyable.

It was a trip to Philmont that reminds me of one to these experiences that still makes me laugh. We had had a great time at Philmont and had spent the last two weeks in the back woods of Philmont High Adventure base in Cimaron New Mexico. The trip is truly and once in a life time experience that I have been fortunate to experience many more times than once. Each and every time you go, you remember some of the items that we all take for granted. Food, nice bathrooms or just the freedom to go where you want when you want. Being basically tethered to a group of 8-10 fellow teenagers and a few adults  for 24 hrs x14 days is a lot to handle. Needless to say, you either get to like each other or you kill one another. Seeing I have never attended a funeral after a trip like this, I think it is safe to call it a success. Even so, we still take for granted the many things we did or didn’t have for those two weeks. I remember my first trip to Philmont, when I walked into the bathrooms in base camp and wondered why there were no doors on the bathroom stalls. It seemed so impersonal, then after spending two weeks on the trail, you once again use the bathrooms and you say WOW, walls!!! When out on the trail, you do get over your shyness of thing like that, so to say it is an adventure, truly makes you aware of what you are missing.

Having taking the train when we go, you get to see a lot of the country not to mention all the variety of people that ride the train. There are several different people that I can think of, each of them have their own unique things about them. One that always comes to mind, is one meal when Jerry Kirkland and I went to breakfast and one of the traditions of the train is to seat people in the dinning car in groups of four, so only having two of us, we were seated with two people, one was a man in I would say his forties or fifties, the second person was a lady I would guess to be in her late fifties to early sixties. As we sat down, the conversation, as it always did, started to be around scouting and the adventure we were either headed to, or returning from, as each time we went to the dinning car we were wearing our Full Class A uniform. The uniform itself can be a conservation piece, but usually then turns to other Scouting stories. Well as we sat with these two people, the lady was the most talkative, the gentleman, was not overly interested in the conversation, and did not know any of us, so was reluctant to get involved. The lady on the other had, made up for the lack of discussion from the gentleman. We talked about a lot about the up coming trip, about how we would spend time in the back country, eating de-hydrated food and things related to the trip. Think about the dehydrated food helped make the train food more acceptable than it would have been otherwise. We looked forward to the side trips and the many adventures of the trip, and occasionally added goofy stories about the youth, seeing both Jerry and I had been to Philmont once before, we shared a lot of stories.. The lady seemed fairly entertained by the conversation, on the other hand, the gentleman was basically there to eat, so from this point forward is really a non-element of this eating adventure. As we finished our meal, the check came, at that time, the lady got VERY quiet and started to weep. Jerry and I began to wonder what the situation was, but we didn’t say much. Now Train food is expensive, but nothing to cry about. Jerry and I began to think, did this lady not have the money to pay for the meal? Were we about to be stuck with the bill? If she didn’t have money, it would have surprised us, seeing she was a fairly classy looking lady, not the typical look of someone who was bad off, not saying there was not some of those on the trail too. As she wept more, Jerry finally asked her what the problem was, she told us that we just gave her new life to a very sad situation and she felt we were there for purpose, to help her understand some issues she was having a hard time dealing with personally. It so happens, she was on the train heading to California to bury her son, who had committed suicide. She was having a terrible time dealing with the whole situation and could not understand the whole thing. She had focused her many aimless hours on the train, trying to understand it, but was not having much luck. She felt that the conversation we had, seemed to take her away from all that and give her a moment of “freedom” from this weight on her shoulders. Then she realized, that her son had enjoyed many of the things we would do on our trip and all the wonderful things about her son, as opposed to the negative issues. I think that her son may have had his own batch of struggles and all she was focused on was those negative issues. Having heard us, she began to see the good things about her son, and that is the memory she was struggling so hard to find, and something we accomplished in the matter of a 45 minute meal. She was so grateful, it warmed our heart, to know that we helped her with that burden. We left the table that day, feeling we had done our good turn for the day, the it didn’t cost us, either, because we were not sure this lady was not a con artist trying to get us to buy her a free meal. Jerry and I still talk about that trip, matter fact several years latter, when Jerry and I did another Philmont trip, we thought about making sure we filled our table with other members of our party, to make sure next time we didn’t get a con artist, just cause we didn’t this time, does not mean it wouldn’t happen next time.

 The stories of the train are even more entertaining, because, quit honestly, this was not all that entertaining, but Jerry and I had one story that makes up for the sadness of this breakfast lady.

This was on a return trip, as I mentioned earlier, is when you have the MOST appreciation for what you miss. Now remembering that this trip is 75% teen-agers in varying states of maturity (or immaturity), that this story really unfolds.

The were two or three spots to hang out on the train, basically the coach car, the observation car, and then the lounge, where you could play cards and stuff at booth style tables. Quite often the Scouts would go down to the two latter locations, just cause the social scene there was much better there, than in the coach car, which is basically, seats like on a bus. They would bring games of monopoly, chess, checkers and cards and spend hours down there playing those games. Other passengers were there and some time joined in the games as well. Well during this one trip, there was this young lady that was on the trip and seemed to enjoy hanging out in that area too. Matter fact, many stories came back to the coach car (where the adults hung out mostly) about this “HOT” girl. She wore a leather jacket, had a chain wallet and a few odd piecing. She looked like the typical bad girl that most of the parents would not appreciate one of our Scouts bringing home. Something that may have been one of the many attractions some of the guys saw in her. She was by no means a bad looking girl, and as the trip progressed, the more they would share stories about her, and get the others to “check her out”. Needles to say, she was becoming the talk of the train ride, for mostly her looks… The Scouts have been away from anything that resembled estrogen for two weeks and their hormones were getting the best of their minds, not to mention, that at the age of these boys, it would not take much to get them excited. They also liked to dream she was a little better than the previous person said she was, after all, who would say anything different, or they would be ridiculed for their lack of interest in a girl. What, you going to tell your buddy she is NOT hot, not a chance, they all just fed off each other, so you can imagine where the talk had reached in what now was a good twelve to eighteen hours of pent up conversation. They were all looking for this girl any chance they could, just to embellish the story. Not sure any of them ever got enough courage to actually talk to this girl, but they sure talked about her. Needless to say, everyone knew about her, and probably talked about her.

 Someone must have talked to her, cause they knew what stop she was getting off at, so as that stop came up, a couple of guys kept an eye out for her to be getting off the train. Once they spotted her, they were sure to let the entire coach car which was entirely Boy scouts, know that she was right out side their window. As she left the train many were disappoint to see her leave, cause their so called dream girl was no longer be riding with them. They all had to see her leave, so those on the opposite side of the train were peering out the windows on the station side of the train, many standing in the isles and some with their face plastered drooling on the window, looking like a puppy waiting for a good juicy steak bone. Not sure if she could really see the Scouts on the inside, but Jerry and I sat in the back row of the train, and were laughing hysterically at them. I suppose we could have told them to be more gentleman like, but what were they hurting… nothing, so we let them gaze out the window and mentally say good bye to this girl. The train seemed to take an extra long time to pull away from the station, and I think the guys were also waiting to see is she had a boyfriend picking her up at the station. They were pleasantly surprised to see a girl about her age there to pick her up, seemed to make it more likely she was available, not that they would ever have made contact with them, but it was a thought they all were probably thinking.

As she approached this other young lady, they also thought she was rather cute too and they watched as they both embraced each other. The girl picking her up even gave her a rose, and comments were made that was a nice gesture for her sister to do, and they continued to watch her ever move… You really did have to be looking out the window to know what was going on, cause they were all making comments, filling in the rest as if they were not gazing out the window, but EVERYONE in that car was. Then the two girls headed to their small car and got in. They chatted a while, then the two of them kissed, and when I say kiss, I mean kiss. Not a little peck on the cheek type kiss, but a lock your lips all out 30 second kiss. It was like a light switch had been turned off in the train. All the hopes, dreams and what ever dreams were dashed. They all made some type of objectionable moan, grown or shriek in disapproval of the definite over affection of these two young ladies. Those in the isle, jumped back in their seats, others ran to the other side so they did not have to see any of it, they wanted to hold on to the dreams they had, not the nightmare they just saw.  They definitely had so many dreams dashed right before their eyes. Jerry and I sat in the back of the train and laughed SOOOO hard at them, we almost wet our pants. It was so funny, they were so excite about this girl, and it all ended in a flash, or should we say a kiss. I don’t think anyone on that train will forget that moment, and seeing we went for a high adventure trip of climbing in the mountains, living in the back country and then any programs that a place like Philmont has to offer, the “extra” adventure of the of the train will probably be remembered much longer than many of those on the trail.