I talked to the family this morning. There is a railroad crossing on the long driveway that runs up the hill to where my parents live. The Bangor & Aroostook RR runs one train a day through there. It has been the cause of some rather hair raising experiences for my father as he has struggled to keep the hill plowed in the winter time. There is nothing like the thrill of excitement you get when you hear the sound of tires spinning on frozen rails mixed with the sound of a train whistle.

Apparently the winter weather has caused a bit of a problem. they got some wet snow, rain, and then 10 degrees below zero (F). The rail plow came through, pushed only by an engine and just beyond the driveway crossing it ran into some ice that didn't want to part company with the tracks. Dad says the engine is sitting in the ditch, facing the opposite direction from its wheels.

I discovered WinDVD on my computer. I plan to create a DVD with all my pictures on it to send home. If someone wants to send me their address I could include them in a mailing. I'm not sure how to reduce the size of the pictures. For those I haven't scanned yet I could do a lower resolution but for those already in digital format I guess there isn't anything I can do.

As for dial up connection, I have one of the worst in the land. It kicks out at unexpected moments and leaves me high and dry when the lines get busy. And it is the only one on the island.