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The Daily Wave – Friday Fictioneers

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Good Wednesday morning, my peeps! It’s Friday Fictioneer time and today we have this photo from J.Hardy Carroll to inspire us. As always, thank you to Rochelle for driving this train weekly! If you care to play along, just click on the frog below and add the link to your 100-word story. Easy peasy!

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The Daily Wave

My train’s always on time. I pride myself on following the schedule. People count on me and I dare not let them down. Not in my nature, anyhow. So, I chug along, blowing my whistle calling the children to come out and wave. I tell you, it’s the best part of my day to see them kids running across the fields wanting nothing else but to have me return their hello. I sure wish I could bring them wherever they want to go. It’s a hard life for them with few options. But I ain’t allowed.

Where are they today?

I was reminded of my trip to Cuba. My kids and I took a short train ride and the local kids all came out running, waving to us passengers. Most smiled…

125 thoughts on “The Daily Wave – Friday Fictioneers”

  1. You describe something so universal here, Dale: waving at the train going by. But there’s so much more in the story. The character of the train driver, the hard life of the children… And all in 100 words. It’s great.

    Liked by 3 people

  4. Aww, now that’s beautiful. This is so uplifting and I love that perspective of the engineer. You can just feel the happiness in such fleeting moment as the train passes by them.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Watching people moving fast past us is a universal habit. We think the passengers’ lives must be marvellous. But sometimes they look look out, as they speed past, on the villages and fields and feel a pang of envy

    Liked by 1 person

  8. That’s sad in many ways. I hear the trains, but can’t see them as we are separated by a bosque and the river. I save my waves for the birds who can then pass my waves on to the trains.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Waving to a train is surely a experience that transcends language and status. I love how your story waves back.

    Bit worried about the last line though. Where are the children today?

    Liked by 2 people

  22. You captured a universal reality of trains and those who wave at them … and I especially like that you did this from the train (conductor’s) point of view, So often we hear of the yearning of those who look at the train, and here you let us glimpse also that of those on the train, to help those who aren’t on it. Well done, you! xx Na’ama

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  25. My first thought was actually “The Orphan Train.” but the children were ON the train, not outside waving 🙂 So I started over, changing my focus, and enjoyed your story very much. Children are always enrhralled with the unknown, and seem to think everyone else is as friendly as they are 🙂

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  27. I’m sure the daily waving interaction brightens everyone’s day. I feel sorry for the unsmiling children. Makes me wonder if they are wishing they could get away from something terrible by jumping on the train.

    I see you also used the word “chug.” Train tracks must have done it 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  31. Wonderful picture of a caring engineer and happy children, Dale. My grandmother lived across the street from the tracks of the Southern Railway. The train whistle blew at noon and we children ran to wave to the train every day when we visited her.

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  34. Dale, this is such a pleasant glimpse into the lives of everyday people with which most of identify. For me it was the truckers. When daddy passed the semi, the kids in the back seat turned to wave to the truck drivers. Before seat belts put a stop to that pleasure.

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  37. I always wave back when kids wave out of cars, trains… it’s such a quick and friendly way of connecting between humans, isn’t it? Too bad when ‘grown-ups’ feel too serious to wave. (I also regularly wave at the ISS when I see it.) I love your engineer, he has a heart.

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  41. Q

    First and foremost, thank you for bringing Cuba into the prompt this way. Artfully done, humanly done, beautifully done. With a wave symbolizing the connection that has never been stanched, no matter the sixty plus years of communist rule. The people still count most of all. And I would hope our elected representatives see it the way you have portrayed it here. That they would see people and not an opportunity to make political hay.

    So damned perfect.

    B

    Liked by 2 people

  45. I know those kids from when I was riding (trains and buses) through South America.
    “Where are they today?” What a heart breaking question. Needs to be asked. ⚡️💥

    Liked by 1 person

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