Tin Lizard Tales: Reflections from a Train
by Schuyler T. Wallace
Book Summary Information
Author: Schuyler T. WallaceEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-08
ISBN: 1432712543
Number of pages: 348
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Book Reviews of Tin Lizard Tales: Reflections from a Train
Book Review: Rail-riding retiree takes no prisoners
Summary: 4 Stars
Author Schuyler Wallace is an ex-paramedic and retired fire chief who, with wife Carol, sets out on a 30-day railway transit of the United States and Canada using the North American Rail Pass. Both are in their eighth decade; Schuyler lacks rose-colored glasses and Carol is short on bladder capacity. TIN LIZARD TALES is Wallace's narrative of the journey. The book is written:
"FOR CAROL: Wife, best friend, and fantastic traveling companion."
Any man with such a pal is blessed beyond measure.
The couple's odyssey takes them from their home in Bakersfield (CA) to Sacramento, across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Rockies to Fort Morgan (CO), onwards to Naperville (IL) and Chicago, Erie (PA), New York City, Washington (DC), Niagara Falls, Toronto, back west across Canada through Sudbury and Edmonton to Vancouver (BC), then home via Seattle, Portland and Sacramento. A route map, which would have added a nice visual element, is sadly not included.
The primary destinations of interest, based on the amount of dedicated text, were Chicago, New York, Washington, Niagara Falls, and Toronto. The author took voluminous notes along the way, which allowed him to describe their perambulations in those places almost step by step as well as their meals dish by dish. Both Schuyler and Carol like their chow.
Through much of TIN LIZARD TALES, Wallace expounds upon places and things he admires or likes: the Central Pacific's building of the RR across the Sierra Nevada range, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, the Naperville Riverwalk, the evolution of the Pullman car, General MacArthur's farewell address to the West Point cadets, the construction of the World Trade Center, a boat trip circumnavigating Manhattan Island, the Empire State Building, Sing Sing Prison, the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame, the Hudson's Bay Company, and West Edmonton Mall. But, being the occasional curmudgeon, Wallace also excoriates locales, situations, and people he finds objectionable: Excel Corporation's past scandals at its Fort Morgan beef packing plant, chicken processing in general, 19th century life for Chicago's stockyard workers, the Chicago Black Sox Scandal, New York's Easter Parade, Amtrak's bad service, the mass marketing of prescription drugs by the pharmaceutical companies, pollution along the Hudson River, society's inability to grapple with the problem of the homeless, the reality shows "Jackass" and "Bumfights", and Howard Stern, whom Wallace calls "a despicable human being." If nothing else, Schuyler is gloriously opinionated. I like that a lot.
The author's writing style is reflective of one who, as a former fire chief, probably wrote many administrative reports. While not demonstrating the relaxed casualness of my favorite travel writer, Bill Bryson, it's solid and determined. And, while Bryson's pervasive humor suggests a puzzled smile and a cocked eyebrow, Schuyler's, when it occasionally surfaces, is wryly sarcastic.
TIN LIZARD TALES is Wallace's first book. The fact that it's as engaging, entertaining, and instructive as it is demonstrates that its author is a tremendously intelligent and literate man. I hope that Schuyler enjoys a long and healthy retirement with the urge and opportunity to write more.
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