Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 3:45 a.m. in "The City."

I don't have to look out the WW (Weather Window) nor consult the DTWS (Desktop Weather Station) with its associated FPMS (Front Porch Mounted Sensor) to tell me what I already know from a recent visit to the back-forty of the PE (Palatial Estate) with GTTSD (Ginger the Trainspotting Dog). It is 1.) cold outside, and 2.), it snowed yesterday afternoon and into the evening. We have a current temperature of 26° that feels like 15° with the wind. Later today, the NWS (National Weather Service) in GR (Grand Rapids), is forecasting a high of 32° under mostly cloudy skies. The sun will rise @ 7:18 a.m. and set @ 6:36 p.m.

We traveled to our book club yesterday afternoon. We were going to walk, but when we crested the hill on the way, we were "persuaded" to come back home and get the car as the wind was blowing in our faces and the snow was beginning to fall. Discretion being the better part of valor as has oft been said, we finished our trip in the car.

Once @ the book club, we learned that Cate, the "Guru" of the book club was out sick. So, we carried on without her and the other two members of the club who are traveling. My apple pie was a hit. We finally cut into it at the meeting and it was even better than I had hoped. I know that I say this every time, but this was my best one to date.

We had a rousing discussion and everyone agreed with yours truly, that the book was long and detailed and dry. We talked politics and discussed the book as it relates to today's worldwide conditions. We all agreed that history doesn't repeat itself, but it also doesn't teach us much, so we are doomed to experience things over and over again.

On the way home, we traveled as far as JWs for adult libations, where we also picked up one of their vegetarian burritos for take-out. We have decided that with all of the burrito offerings in "The City", that the one from JWs is the best. The others we have sampled are good, each in their own way, but the one from JWs is the best.

I have one-half of a trainspotting for this blog. Apparently, the tracks have been repaired following the recent rollover of the concrete mixer in Ferrysburg. That made me think of all the times my brother, Randy, "Raig", and I chose to talk about cement mixers when we were drifting off to sleep in our shared bedroom, he in the bottom bunk and me in the upper. Why we chose that subject, I don't remember, perhaps due to my dad being in the construction trades, but that's what we did. Times were simpler then.

But I digress. Mary heard the train on the RSTL (Reality Scale Train Layout) before I did and seemingly before GTTSD ever noticed. EMD GP-38-2 locomotives (Electromotive Division General Purpose) locomotives are the revised version of these powerful workhorses. Both 2019 and 2057 were heading south. I observed that they had in tow eight CHCs (Covered Hopper Cars), three DBTCs (Dreaded Black Tank Cars) and six DWTCs (Dreaded White Tank Cars). I did not observe a northbound run if there was one.

The locomotives are part of the stable of locomotives that belong to the MMRR (Mid-Michigan Railroad), the short line that runs from north of Muskegon to south of Holland and points east. The MMRR is headquartered in Greenville, MI, which is coincidentally the home of Meijer Stores, the big-box everything store that is ubiquitous to our part of Michigan. #2057 is pictured below in its current livery.
 

What was interesting, was that one of those DWTCs had a green stripe around its mid-section. A little research led me to learn that this is a strip of acid resistant paint that is very expensive and is used only where the car is loaded with corrosive liquid. The DWTCs are generally used to carry hydrochloric acid, so why this one was special I have no idea.

Today, I have some indoor chores to accomplish and a trip to the local drug store for a prescription pick-up. I learned that the increased cost I spoke of yesterday is due to the new rate structure from the insurance company for 90 prescriptions. I'll have to ask what the cost would be without insurance and then weigh that against the monthly premium that I pay for this Medicare Part D supplemental insurance. Too much thinking for me in one day.  Ciao.