protocol for cutting through dining car?

[Big Iron]

Ryan's hypothetical hits the target smack dab in the middle of the bullseye. As a commercial lender for 25 years the story that he portrays is not hypothetical but daily reality for the small business owner. The bulk of their wealth is tied up in the business which may, or may not, be worth something when it is sold. Some business owners do well while other have trouble catching their fish.

On topic, I was scolded one time by the LSA after making three trips from the sleeper to the sightseer. I kept running out of scotch as dinner kept getting delayed so I needed to retreat to the sleeper to restock. They were frazzled due to some technical difficulties which caused the delay.

Yes, I'm guilty, I admit that I drink my own private stock outside of the confines of my sleeper. Let the dart throwing begin :giggle:

 

[roomette]

Yes, I'm guilty, I admit that I drink my own private stock outside of the confines of my sleeper. Let the dart throwing begin :giggle:

Ditto. All beer looks the same in a can cozy

 

[Anderson]

Dave's (actual) and Ryan's (hypothetical) situations aren't uncommon. At least in VA, you have a number of "legacy" farms in areas...there was one example in my area where a farm owner had to sell their land because a highway went in and spiked the value of their land such that they couldn't afford the taxes. Honestly, this is a risk with any highly illiquid asset class making up a lot of one's wealth.

As to the original topic...I generally keep my cutting through to a minimum at peak hours, but then again I'm usually eating in the diner at those hours (or crashing after dinner...that is all too common).

 

[haolerider]

Way too much personal information on a train related forum! The Traveler is an Admin on this forum and should know better.

If you want to expose yourself to the world, go to Facebook.

As far as hats in the dining car.....take them off!

As far as protocol (which, if I remember correctly) is the focus of the original post.....be polite and avoid busy times!

 

[MrMattyMatt]

My meal in the 1950's dining car from Deerfield Beach to Orlando cost me more than the whole round trip ticket! Is was a fun trip though!

 

[crescent2]

Thank you, traveler, for sharing "the rest of the story." I can well relate to your disability, etc. In defense of several of the posters who originally drew ryan's ire, though, all they had to go on was traveler's original post. Reading that, it's a net worth of a million dollars on subsidized housing, in his own words. Based on that, it's no wonder there were negative comments. And their comments sound more civil than the ire they subsequently drew, imho.

Ryan, Matthew 7 is some of my favorite Scripture, and there are many others as well concerning charity, finances, and all manner of social issues. Thank you for posting it. We could probably quote wise and beautiful Scripture all day long, but I'm not prone to doing that. If you go back and read my post, I was not judging traveler and I certainly did not accuse him of defrauding the government. Judging people is not generally one of my many faults, as I would be a poor one to judge others. I was attempting to cast light on why the responses to his post had been made. You'd come down pretty hard on the responders--which again, all they had to go on was traveler's original post. Their responses, based on the information they had been given, simply were not unreasonable.

I'm still puzzled that anyone would make such a post on a public forum without giving more information on the situation, although that is definitely within traveler's rights. Why go there at all? OK, I'm done on the OT subjects, and I hope we're all still friends!

 

[the_traveler]

I'll just say one more thing on this very off topic matter. I was wrong to post what I did the way I did it, but what I was trying to do is demonstrate the saying "You can't judge a book by it's cover".

A million dollars 30-40 years ago was something special. But today it's nothing. With homes selling for $300K-500K, many people have a net worth of over $1 million! I remember back in the 1960's saying that none who bought gas when it was 60¢/gallon had to be rich. (Gas sold at that time under 25¢/gallon.) Today, we Americans get excited by gas selling under $3.50/gallon.

 

[Ryan]

You'd come down pretty hard on the responders--which again, all they had to go on was traveler's original post. Their responses, based on the information they had been given, simply were not unreasonable.

I disagree, they were completely unreasonable, particularly after being told "there's more to the story that you don't know" and doubling down on the judgement.

It's one thing to ask for clarification, which I was completely OK with, but quite another to proceed down the "he's a bad person" road, and "he's a bad person, bad poster, bad moderator and gets unfair special treatment" is quite another road indeed.

I hope we're all still friends!

Of course!

 

[roomette]

I disagree, they were completely unreasonable, particularly after being told "there's more to the story that you don't know"

What vetted credible source said that?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

It's easy to be a millionaire and live in section 8 housing if the qualifications of such is simply based on earned income.

Looks like you nailed it. It's not illegal. It's not fraud. It's an ethically challenged loophole play. From the man who brags more than anyone else about all the times he was able to abuse AGR before they decided to punish everyone for the actions of a few spoiled travelers.

 

[Ryan]

I did.

I'm not claiming to be right 100% of the time, but unlike some of the posters in this thread I tend to keep my mouth shut unless I know what I'm talking about.

Whether you choose to believe what I have to say or not is completely up to you (and frankly I don't care).

But you don't get to play the ignorance card when you were apprised of the missing facts and chose not to believe them.

Now, once again, can we drop this stupid line of debate and get back to something at least remotely train related? Pretty, pretty please?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Now, once again, can we drop this stupid line of debate and get back to something at least remotely train related? Pretty, pretty please?

When do you think the special train will reach WIL? Hey, it's train related.

 

[Ryan]

Supposed to be here around 6:40 - you're what, an hour before that?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Maybe. I usually think of WIL to WAS as about 1-1/2 on a regional.

 

[City of Miami]

almost everybody (see mathematical definiton of "almost everywhere") in the USA lives in subsidized housing - whether the mortgage interest deduction, section 8, presidents (of the USA or of universities), rent-controlled apartments in NYC, or Halliburton employees near the Williston oilfields."Living in subsidized housing" is a jest. Maybe a poor one.

About terms of address - if you try to be polite and the other party takes offense - adjust.

Perhaps almost everyone does, but I do not. I receive none of the benefits enumerated here.

Another thing.....I'm not so sure about the "earned" income qualification for Section 8. My impression has been that it is any income from any source, though this may vary from state to state. I have not investigated that thoroughly simply because I do not actually need it - and I am far from a millionaire. My very modest life style makes my low income level adequate for my needs. I do not have an apt with a market rate of $2K/month......I have a room in a house that I share with others. I prefer it that way.

 

[SarahZ]

I have a friend who got divorced and has to live on WIC and EBT (food stamps). She drives a Saturn Vue (that is paid off) because she has custody of three kids, two of which are in car seats. She also has a Coach purse that was given to her on Christmas and an iPhone that was purchased before the divorce.

She hates hates hates having to use WIC and EBT, but what she hates worst of all are the looks she gets from other people who think she's a "welfare queen" and use her as an example of a corrupt system.

Assuming is never a good idea. No matter how much you think you know about a person's situation, you don't. Unless you have access to someone's financial statements, you have NO IDEA how that person lives. None. Zero.

Now, to get back to train-related discussion:

I don't like french fries.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

almost everybody (see mathematical definiton of "almost everywhere") in the USA lives in subsidized housing - whether the mortgage interest deduction, section 8, presidents (of the USA or of universities), rent-controlled apartments in NYC, or Halliburton employees near the Williston oilfields.

"Living in subsidized housing" is a jest. Maybe a poor one.

About terms of address - if you try to be polite and the other party takes offense - adjust.

Perhaps almost everyone does, but I do not. I receive none of the benefits enumerated here.

Same here. No mortgage deduction. No section eight. No political benefit. No education benefit. No rent-controlled anything. No employee discount. So who exactly is subsidizing my housing?

 

[roomette]

I don't like french fries.

I love Garlic Fries!

 

[Bob Dylan]

almost everybody (see mathematical definiton of "almost everywhere") in the USA lives in subsidized housing - whether the mortgage interest deduction, section 8, presidents (of the USA or of universities), rent-controlled apartments in NYC, or Halliburton employees near the Williston oilfields.

"Living in subsidized housing" is a jest. Maybe a poor one.

About terms of address - if you try to be polite and the other party takes offense - adjust.

Perhaps almost everyone does, but I do not. I receive none of the benefits enumerated here.

Same here. No mortgage deduction. No section eight. No political benefit. No education benefit. No rent-controlled anything. No employee discount. So who exactly is subsidizing my housing?

Chris: Actually You Are helping Subsidize Others that Do Have All the Various Deductions,Credits etc. that Politicians seem to come up with! Its just that the Rich get Much Larger Ones than the Middle Class and the Poor! Corporate Welfare is a Real Problem, it's Many Times what We Receive in the way of Government Benefits! I'm with City of Miami, I live simply with my Extravagance Limited to LD Train Rides and Blue Bell Ice Cream! :wub: ("It's from where the Cows are Happy @ the Little Creamery in Brenham, Texas!")

 

[guest in the west]

Are conductors even required to wear hats? On the Pacific Surfliner, they are most often seen topless, or is it headless? than with a hat.

Which reminds me of the famous New York Daily News headline about a mob murder: Headless Body Found in Topless Bar

 

[Ryan]

Yes, they're required to wear a hat:

 

[crescent2]

I like French fries, especially when shared with uneducated convicts.

 

[MiRider]

I like French fries, especially when shared with uneducated convicts.

Made that much more (un)savory if they can't sign their names.

We (husband & I) were talking about what kind of food fun we were going to have this week and were both waxing poetic about the delicious Belgium style fries served with Bearnaise mayo at a local brew pub.

We think they may have used some duck fat in the prep - delicious.

 

[guest in the west]

guess it's like every other Amtrak rule: followed by some, ignored by others...the Surfliner conductors don't even wear their jackets half the time. But in their defense, I think they "ride" to the more mellow tune of Southern Californians. Some of the conductors announce the station stops with funny voices ala Mel Blanc or other famous (to oldies like me, anyways) announcers of the past. In comparison, I've noticed conductors on the NE Regional, the Missouri River Runner, the Cascades and the Carl Sandburg are much more formal.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

A million dollars 30-40 years ago was something special. But today it's nothing.

Well, I've got nothing in the bank, so I must be extremely wealthy indeed! So, I understand if you've got nothing to spare, but I would certainly accept nothing from you...

And as for a hat, I usually don't wear one in the diner, and I would definitely take it off anyway, unless a German scientist told me to hold onto it. When a German scientist tells you to hold on to your hat, it's not casual conversation. HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT! HAT! HOLD!