On Thanksgiving Day I would make boutonnières and
corsages for the crew. We were going to enjoy
a classic Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the fixings in a flower filled dining car as
we watched the Montana countryside pass by. David
was going to bring his camera equipment and photograph the whole event. It was wonderful idea!
As it turned
out, my plans were utterly destroyed, but partially as a result we had a marvelous time.
The trip
began perfectly to plan. My friends at Amtrak
helped me get my flowers and equipment on board. They
even let me use an unsold sleeping compartment where I could store my flowers and make
arrangements. Our car attendant, Larry was an
absolute delight. In his 31 years as a train
attendant he had never seen so many flowers on board.
He pretended that he didn’t care for flowers. When I pinned a boutonnière on his jacket he made
sure to parade the entire train and show all of the crew members his boutonnière. All evening Larry and other crew members would stop
by to see what we were doing, ask if we needed anything, and offer to help. By bedtime everything was ready. We had centerpieces for all of the dining tables,
autumn wreaths for the doorways, garland in the hall and boutonnières and corsages for
all of the crew. I slept wonderfully that
night as the Empire Builder rolled through eastern Washington. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving and my flowers were going
to make for a marvelous Thanksgiving Day party. This
was going to be such fun. |
