New Beginnings


    Happy New Year to all of my friends and followers here on my Blog. 

To say I will not miss 2016 is a understatement, while it had it's ups and downs I am just glad to be into the new year 2017, a new 365 page book that I get to write and I already have written an awesome first page. It is sometimes considered a old wives tale that how you begin your new year is how it will be. If it is any indication of the things to come just from yesterday I am going to have a epic year ahead.
Let's begin on how my new year began, I spent the evening in church like I have been doing for the past 16 years and then I got up and went to service the next morning. Yesterday morning it was superb weather for January and not a cloud in the sky. After church I went out trackside to catch one or both trains out running, the Q299 and the L389  (I was fortunate to catch the latter), what better way to bring in the new year than with a mixed freight led by a clean SD70AC in perfect sunlight and weather. Oh I forgot also to mention it got to be number 74 on Rail-pictures.net. In all hopes I hope the old adage is true. 

The New Years day treat 4544 leading L389
As I basked in the warm sun coming in the windows of my van watching the L389 roll past I began to think about what I could do different in 2017 to make my year better. 


In order to make 2017 better I took this picture of myself as I began to pull off to come home for dinner, it serves as a reminder of the promise I made to myself for this year. I promise to make sure God stays first, in my life, then my family and close friends, then me. While it may seem selfish of me to put myself first it really isn't. For years I put work, helping others with their projects, and allowing others to use the very things I have built to that persons personal gain while I sat watching everyone else do what I only could dream of.  I promised myself more trips to places I never have been but always wanted to go. I Promised change to myself to not only get my spiritual, emotional health back on track but to get my physical health back. Another promise I made to myself was to get better at my photography, take more pictures and video and quit worrying about small stuff I can't do anything about. For the most part I look forward to my 2017 and what it entails as you know I cannot leave you without some kind of wisdom so here is my two cents. Many time we spend time at work not because we need to but because we feel it is needed and we miss out on the things we really need. That job was there before you and it will be there after you most likely but why miss out on friends family, or even watching trains for something that ultimately benefits someone else. I am not telling you to quit your job, grow your hair and backpack across the Swiss Alps but all I am trying to say is take off a weekend, use some of the vacation you accumulated and do something you enjoy for a change, and remember God is still in control, much love and take care.

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