DASHING THROUGH THE SUN HOLIDAY TRAIN RIDE TAKES FAMILIES TO THEIR TREES.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer FILLMORE - For the more than 300 people who traveled on the Fillmore & Western Railway Saturday morning, it was a Christmas memory A Christmas Memory is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in The Selected Writings of Truman Capote to last a lifetime. The gently rocking train carried wide-eyed children and their parents from Fillmore to a Christmas tree Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. farm in Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. , where they were able to pick out and cut their own trees, then watch them being loaded aboard the train. As they traveled, they were entertained by a visit from Santa and banjo-playing Christmas carolers wandering the aisles. ``This is our own tradition,'' said Annette McComas of Oxnard, who came with her husband, Scott, 42, and their children, Clayton, 13, and Kira, 7. ``When you're grown up and have your own kids, you look back.'' ``Our lifestyles are so busy these days,it's hard to make the time, but we've always made the time to do this as a family.'' Four-year-old Fiona Tronson of West Hills knew exactly what kind of tree she wanted: ``I want to get a big one!'' But for her brother, Pierce, 2 1/2, the best part of the day was the train ride. ``He gets this real low voice with big eyes and says, 'We're going to go on the train and get a Christmas tree,''' said his mother, Alicia Tronson, 36, who also brought her husband, Steve, 40, and her brother-in-law, John, 39, with his kids Avery, 4, and Emily, 7, of Woodland Hills. ``We were hoping that it would be cold, but in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , what can you do?'' she added, pointing out the sunny weather and temperatures in the 70s. ``We'll just have to settle for perfect warm weather.'' Mary Ann, 44, and Todd Fraser, 45, of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. brought their three children, Ian, 14, Alex, 12, and Brett, 10. Mary Ann's sister, Peri Damon, 41, of Nashua, N.H., and the children's grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl Genevieve and Noel Damon, both 71, of Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. , Colo., came along. ``It's a good family activity,'' Mary Ann Fraser said. ``You don't have to fight the crowds at the mall.'' The Fraser family chose the second tree they saw: an 8-foot-tall beauty that was green and full. But Ian had more specific criteria for the perfect tree: ``Adequate storage space'' for gifts underneath, he said, grinning. Everyone took a turn using the sturdy, triangle-shaped bow saw to cut through the trunk. ``It's really rough because the sap was sticking to it,'' Brett said. It was also a day for plotting the perfect Christmas morning. The Fraser boys are hoping for lots of computer and video games This article is about the British magazine covering computer and video games. For the American magazine, see Computer Games Magazine. Computer And Video Games (CVG - and not too much clothing. The trio will get up very early - maybe 3 a.m. - and wait to wake their parents at a more reasonable hour. Say, 5 a.m. There will be ``bread pudding Bread pudding is a dessert popular in British cuisine and that of the Southern U.S., as well as Belgian and French cuisine. The French refer to it by the English name "pudding" without the word "bread" and the Belgians call it Bodding. for breakfast,'' Alex said. ``Which we eat as quickly as possible so we can get back to our presents,'' Ian finished. Clayton McComas said he and his sister Kira don't usually leave out cookies and milk for Santa, but, he added, ``We could, this year. She suggested cookies and milk. I suggested cookies and beer.'' ``Yeah, but he's got to drive the sleigh sleigh: see sled. ,'' his father pointed out. ``It's a great start to the season,'' said an antler-wearing railway owner, Teresa Wilkinson, as she bustled about selling tickets for Saturday's trips, the first of the season. ``Instead of sitting at home, everyone wants to get out and have a good time and have a great holiday season.'' For more information about the Fillmore & Western train rides, call (800) 524-2546 or go to the Web site at www.fwry.com. Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Andy Wilkinson Andrew Gordon "Andy" Wilkinson (born on August 6 1984 in Stone, England) is an English footballer, currently playing for Stoke City. During 2006, he was on loan to Blackpool. , 15, of Santa Paula helps load just-cut Christmas trees onto a car of the holiday train on Saturday. (2 -- color) Clayton McComas, 13, and little sister Kira, 7, watch the scenery on the Saturday outing to the tree farm. (3 -- 4 -- color) Two-year-old Ryan Buckley, left, of Simi Valley gets a good look out the train's window. At right, trees ready to be brought back to Fillmore are laid out alongside a Fillmore & Western car. (5 -- color) Train passengers Virginia and Rolf Christoffersen of West Covina take a break from their search for a Christmas tree on Saturday at the Santa Paula Christmas Tree Farm. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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