| A recent page was devoted to a ride on the famous Orient Express. This time, we're boarding the Rocky Mountaineer for a trip across Canada. The route: "Coast to Coast" -- from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. All aboard! -- Nancy |
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| Canada: Coast to Coast |
| "What is real?" |
| There are some childhood books that I've never outgrown. One of these is "The Velveteen Rabbit," the story of a well-loved toy, eventually destined for destruction, but ultimately redeemed and brought to life through the magic of a child's love. Here's my favorite passage from "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams: |
| The Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by- and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew they were only toys. |
| They would never turn into anything else. Nursery magic is strange and wonderful and only those playthings that are old and wise like the Horse understand all about it. "What is Real?" asked the Rabbit one day. "Real is a thing that happens to you," said the Horse. |
| "When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it happen all at once, or bit by bit?" "It takes a long time," said the Horse. "That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, |
| your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because you're Real and you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. The Boy's Uncle made me Real a great many years ago. Once you are Real, you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always." |
