Blonde Sagacity posts about a special train ride – no, it wasn’t the Polar Express. It was more special than that. The complete article can be found here.

It seems that last year a certain Philadelphia gentleman and his wife were sad when they thought about the troops who were stuck at Walter Reed and Bethesda, recovering from wounds received overseas. So this year, they decided to do something about it.

Since the gentleman in question owns a few luxury rail cars, he hooked up with other luxury rail car owners, and they ran a special train to the Army/Navy football game. Luxury cars, gourmet meals, seats on the 50-yard line, corporate goodie bags, and each military member was allowed to bring a guest (the Marines chose to forego the guests, so that more Marines could attend). The guests got goodie bags, too. There were no press on the train, no politicians, and no “pentagon suits” so the troops could just enjoy themselves.

Probably the part of the article that hit me the hardest was towards the end. The author was detailing the reactions of the philanthropists and their guests, and it was wonderful to read. I especially liked this paragraph:

The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station.

“One of the guys was blind, but he said, ‘I can’t see you, but man, you must be f—ing beautiful!’ ” says Bennett. “I got a lump so big in my throat, I couldn’t even answer him.”

It’s been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the day’s love.

“My Christmas came early,” says Levin, who is Jewish and who loves the Christmas season. “I can’t describe the feeling in the air.”