Seeing the Trains Go Choo Choo at NY Botanic Garden and A Chance Meeting With the Younger Generation

Saturday, December 13, 2025 - 

Don't get run over by a faux Santa today

 

 

I love trains - and gardens. So Thursday I went up to the train show in the Bronx Botanic Garden, which is so far out of my normal range of travel - I've barely been in the Bronx - though I used to distribute Ed Notes to the big high schools, before they were wiped out by Bloomberg. Years ago I drove up to the train show with a friend but I hear they change it somewhat every year. And now with my training as a tour guide at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I wanted to see what the competition looked like in the green houses.

 

I had signed up to go on a tour with one of the UFT courses a few weeks ago but had a conflict that day.  

 

I stayed over in my apartment after the Ugly sweater Delicate Assembly on Wednesday, so I was leaving from Grand Central and had two choices - Metro North which I had never used before or the subway and bus. 

 

I began looking for Metro North timetables but switched to the 4 train. I spent the entire trip standing at the front window of the train, like I used to do as a kid, watching the tracks fly by. I had the same thrill I always have when we emerge into the daylight as we hit Yankee Stadium, but had never taken the 4 past that station before and got to see a slice of the Bronx. I got off at Bedford Blvd and waited in the cold for a bus, which then dropped me off near the gate and I had a bit of a walk - did I say it was cold?

 

Okay, so I'm finally in the warmth of the train show - but the trains and their routes were not as interesting - I was waiting for a crash. The major interest are the buildings and I posted a few pics below. I loved the Penn Station building and at the end of the show we see the view I posted above of major Manhattan buildings. But I was also fascinated by the plants - the 200 million year Cycads display, the desert greenhouse. I have an assignment for the BBG to go to the greenhouses so I can do a tour and until my knee started bothering me, I could have spent hours there. But I was also hungry and had to find the cafeteria which happened to be a bit of a walk. After eating, I had a longer walk back - did I say it was cold -- and my knee ached, so I decided I would try to take Metro North which was across the street. 

So I got there and asked a guy how to get to the station to Grand Central and he said I had to go up the stairs, walk across the tracks and down the stairs and a bit of a walk to a temporary station because of construction. Oy, my aching knee.

A Serendipitous meeting

I got to the top of the stairs and there was woman walking in front of me and I asked her where I had to go. She said she was not going to the train but taking a short cut to the other side and was walking to the subway. I said I thought the subway was far away and she said it was only 10 blocks or so to the D train, so I decided to do that too and walked with her since she knew the way. 

 

So it turns out she is a second year law student, comes from Colorado (she no longer skis) and turned out to be a delightful companion through our walk and the train ride to Grand Central where we parted and I walked home through the holiday goodies at Bryant Park. But my knee ached less and the cold was no longer so bad.

What does an 80 year old man have to talk about with a 24 year old woman? How about everything. She was interested in gardening, she goes to BBG often, she likes trains - naturally - she had a day off after finishing her courses so going to the train show was a priority -- she had done some theater work on a construction crew like I do, she likes cats through her boyfriend's family, she is a Zohran fan and into social justice and is focused on health issues --- I expect her to become a factor as a lawyer in the health care struggle. 

 

In addition to the train show, meeting this young lady added so much to the day. I told her that we had just finished Hair at the RTC and she said she'd come to shows next year at the Rockaway Theater. I feel awkward about asking a young lady for her contact info, so I gave her mine. I don't really expect to hear from her, but was happy to spend an hour with her.

 

You hear people say so many negative things about her particular generation, but I have a lot of contact with young people in her age range at the Rockaway Theater and they have been delightful too.  It is important for people my age to engage with younger people and most do so with their kids. But I don't have kids to sponge cultural contact with, so interacting with people at the theater or in the younger crowd at ABC is important. But when you run into someone accidentaly and the meeting turnedsn out to be so enriching, I'd say that the cold and aching knee seemed to disappear.

 

Here are some pics from the day: