We were in the van, driving alongside the Columbia River, when I spied a Union Pacific train on the tracks near the river."Look, boys, a train!" I exclaimed.
"Ewww, a twain," marveled 3 year old Maverick. "Can I wide it?"
"No, that train isn't for people," I replied.
"Can I wide that twain?" he repeated.
"No, Maverick. People can't ride that train. It's a freight train. See, there's no place in those cars for people to ride."
"But can I wide the twain?" he persisted.
"Maverick, see all those cars? They don't carry people. One might have corn in it, another soybeans; one might have steel in it or coal. There's no place for people to ride."
"But I wanna wide the twain. Can I wide the twain?"
Maverick was in the center section of the van, and his 7 year old brother, Dylan, was seated beside me in the front. Feeling exasperated, I turned to Dylan and said, "Dylan, I can't get him to understand. Will you see if you can explain it to him?"
He sweetly replied, "Sure!" Then he turned his head toward the back of the van and hollered,
"It's got stuff in it, Mav! Ya won't fit!"
And, of course, a little voice from the back seat happily and contentedly assented, "Oh."
