New Spin on the Caboose’s Lot in Life

Perhaps Vincent’s status as an inveterate train buff inspired his journey on a philosophical track the other day.
For years, I have regaled the now-7-year-old with tales of the days when EVERY train had a caboose. That knowledge makes him pay particular attention on the rare occasions when we see trains with cabooses.
And it’s a sad thing, indeed, that cabooses have gone the way of the model T, largely because of the usual things that doom such relics: automation at the expense of tradition and jobs. Fortunately, some cabooses have a second lease on life, including this entire TRAIN of cabooses:

Speaking of cabooses, Patrick Michael came ’round the mountain when he came. And he WAS a surprise when around the mountain when he came, because we all thought Luke was the caboose.

We thank the boys for that musical interlude with the notation that it’s pretty certain that Patrick IS the caboose for sure.
And that’s what turned Vincent into a philosophical locomotive the other day.
No sibling rivalry there, as he told his mom how much he enjoyed watching Patrick grow from a bundled infant into a wonderful little baby with tons of personality. (For some reason, the 7-month-old has taken to sitting on the couch and growling, like a bear or, perhaps, like Jabba the Hutt.)
Enough about “Star Wars.” Back to Vincent, waxing eloquently about the youngest star in : “Mommy,” he told Melissa, “ I really enjoy watching Patrick as he learns to play with things, starts to sit up, gets his first teeth,” etc., etc.
It’s sad, though, that Patrick “will never get to see those things.”
Ba-da-BUMP. How heavy is THAT, that a 7-year-old realizes the implications that Patrick never will have a younger sibling? How sensitive! How caring; how humbling to me, an adult who rarely utters such an introspective gem (heck, it took me several seconds to catch the point when Melissa related the story to me).