Thomas in the Third World

Because Samson upended the nicely designed train set-up that Vicki painstakingly put together some months ago, the task has fallen to me to redesign things.

Which is not good news for Samson. And it's even worse news for Thomas and his friends.

For one, I was not a train guy as a kid, which means I still have a hard time estimating how much of the wooden track I'm going to need to make this line or that bridge connect/not collide/whatever.

Not to mention the fact that as I'm trying to put things together, Samson is next to me trying to run his trains along this sad set-up.

Which leaves him with a railway system not unlike that of some sub-Saharan African nation, like Zambia or Tanzania.

The analogy is pretty apt when you think of it. Engineered and inaugurated to great fanfare with outside help (China or Vicki), then left to allow to fall into disrepair, what was once a proud accomplishment eventually becomes a series of pitfalls, broken lines, and just a general nuisance. Not to mention a safety hazard.

At this point the only thing Samson's train set is missing is miniature-sized squatter families living by the side of the railway tracks hoping to sell bottled water and snacks to passengers whose trains break down.

So basically Samson's only chance of restoring his little table-world's infrastructure is resurgent interest from an outside source. And to be honest, as busy as Vicki has been with Jane lately, Samson's best hope might just be Chinese engineers sent by the Central Committee.