A Rhyme for Each
July 7, 2009 (Tuesday)
The old song, “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” describes the passenger train ride:
“You leave the Pennsylvania Station ’bout a quarter to four
Read a magazine and then you’re in Baltimore
Dinner in the diner
Nothing could be finer
Than to have your ham an’ eggs in Carolina
“When you hear the whistle blowin’ eight to the bar
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
Shovel all the coal in
Gotta keep it rollin’
Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are.”
Ah, those were the days. Nowadays, airplanes have replaced trains for most long trips. My favorite airline slogan was, “Delta gets you there.” I found it comforting. Merle Haggard wrote a song about planes:
Silver wings shinning in the sunlight,
Roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
They’re taking you away, leaving me lonely,
Silver wings slowly fading out of sight.
I see where a new budget airline is ordering jets with plenty of standing room in the passenger cabin. That’s a far cry from the earlier days of passenger flight, when a complementary meal was served on most flights, and no more than two seats were in a row. The back actually reclined without bothering any other passengers, and there was plenty of leg room. The great thing about flying today is that it’s probably a jet you’re flying in, and you don’t have to stay in it as long (unless you do). But you pay more (unless you somehow get a bargain price).
Most of us regularly ride in automobiles, anyway. Remember the old slogan, “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet?” It’s hard to sing, “See the U.S.A. in your new Mitsubishi,” but it wouldn’t be hard to sing, “Mama mia, I’m in my Kia.” I see that rock. Drop it. I said, drop it, please. I promise no more rhymes about trains, planes or automobiles.