So, it's midnight, and I have finally ascended the stairs from our basement trainroom, after a day that began at 7:00am, of re-crafting some areas of my layout, a project which has been on-going for months. To reward myself for all the effort, I removed the plastic envelope from the latest OGR magazine, Run260, which arrived today. Between mouthfuls of popcorn and green tea, I began scanning the entire issue, from front to back, reserving the reward of in-depth reading for the next few days.
However, the realism of the jaw-dropping photo on p. 89 stopped me, as did the photo of former Editor-in-Chief, George Brown, whose voice on model train matters I respect immensely.
Naturally, as I read further along the text, I realized that the photo was not from real-life but from Rich Battista's magic touch. I was immediately happy for Rich because I am acquainted with him, as many of you are, and have found him to be a fine gentleman and a master layout builder. Then, quite unexpectedly, I quickly realized that the article mentioned me, also! What? Huh? Who knew this was coming! Not I.
To see my name mentioned along with Rich's, as well as Victor Roseman's, was a distinct honor, one that was heartfelt.
There are so many good people in this hobby of ours. Many of them visit this forum, and many of them are part of producing OGR Railroading magazine. Geogre Brown is certainly one of the really good people I have come to know, and he is one of the distinguished voices of leadership among OGR.
Thank you, George, for your very, very generous, kind applause and approval. Should you ever want to build that scenic layout, I stand ready to travel to Dallas to offer my assistance; or, you might even find a few surprises arriving at your door.
Very sincerely yours and with great respect,
Frank Mullen
