Cold Splinters

Now we’re big on nostalgia around here, and upon hearing a couple of weeks back that a hundred and eight year old company called Lionel Trains emerged from bankruptcy, we couldn’t help but feel okay, because really, there ain’t no memory like the memory of the first time you took control of a Santa Fe Super Chief on a basement train set.

It also makes you feel okay to hear that Lionel Trains owners will remain with the company, because really, there ain’t no better name in model trains these days than Neil Young. And there ain’t no better story in model trains than the one about Neil’s bond with his handicapped son:

Neil Young’s Incredible Lionel Empire: 1993 article from Classic Toy Trains. “He accepted the challenges presented by Ben’s condition and responded by developing a completely new method of toy train control, giving his son the chance to experience the joys of toy train operation”

Take a Ride on Neil Young’s Trains: A 1997 story published not long after Neil purchased a 20% stake in Lionel.

Model Train Journal message board with text of May 5, 2008 Wall Street Journal story regarding the future of Lionel Trains.

Here’s hoping that many more fathers and sons find memories down the tracks of a Lionel.

MP3: Neil Young – I am a Child [Live at Massey Hall 1971]
..

Edward Abbey, author and critic of everything, is one of CS’s absolute favorite things in the cosmic empire and we were happy to see that a little scene from Voice In The Wilderness made its way onto the Internets. VITW is an Abbey documentary that was made a few years back that includes a lot of bad PBS-style moments and a few great ones. This segment has one of the latter where Abbey takes us back to his Desert Solitaire days and carelessly expresses where he wants to be buried.

In reality, Outside Magazine tells us:

The last time Ed smiled was when I told him where he was going to be buried,” says Doug Peacock, an environmental crusader in Edward Abbey’s inner circle. On March 14th, 1989, the day Abbey died from esophageal bleeding at 62, Peacock, along with his friend Jack Loeffler, his father-in-law Tom Cartwright, and his brother-in-law Steve Prescott, wrapped Abbey’s body in his blue sleeping bag, packed it with dry ice, and loaded Cactus Ed into Loeffler’s Chevy pickup. After stopping at a liquor store in Tucson for five cases of beer, and some whiskey to pour on the grave, they drove off into the desert. The men searched for the right spot the entire next day and finally turned down a long rutted road, drove to the end, and began digging.

MP3: George Harrison – Hear Me Lord (Demo)

MP3: The Beach Boys – There’s No Other (Like My Baby)

New Hampshire might have lost their favorite Old Man, but up north they still claim New England’s reigning queens, The White Mountains. This spring, the Appalachian Mountain Club wants to take you to the alpine zone of the Presidential Range and show you alpine wildflowers while traveling hut-to-hut. The huts in the Presidential Range are some of the best in the country and you’d be real wise to take them up on their offer. An AMC naturalist will be your guide. From the AMC:

This spring, discover the unique and fragile alpine zone, a fascinating ecosystem of delicate flowers, hardy plants, and remarkable wildlife that survive in the harsh climate of the Presidentials. These rare flowers bloom only once a year, and AMC is making it easy for you to plan an alpine garden visit.

One of the stops you’ll make is the Lake Of The Clouds Hut (pictured above). God’s country.

MP3: Magnolia Electric Co – Hammer Down

Everyday last August I’d wake up, play Side A of Loudon Wainwright’s A Live One, and quietly watch 30 Chinese men practice martial arts on the overgrown basketball court outside of our apartment . The whole scene put me in a total trance. A princess friend of mine once called Loudon Waiwnright “Raffi for adults,” but I don’t buy that back handed compliment.

“Cyclones and typhoons and tornadoes too
Baby, they should name a hurricane after you”

MP3: Loudon Wainwright III – Natural Disaster

MP3: Loudon Wainwright III – Kings and Queens