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April 27, 1998
I recently rode your Northeast Corridor Express train from Boston to New York and am writing to you today to tell you about my experiences. It was a long and boring trip and I hope you don't mind but I clipped my toe nails and put them in the little ashtray for your clean-up crews to dispose of. I saw no rolling landscapes but instead a bunch of dirty little stanky towns scattering the seaboard. I wrote no poetry. Halfway through the trip I began to get hungry. I went to the food cart. This is where I met Fudgy, the food cart service man. I'm not sure if that was the name his momma gave him but his name tag definitely said FUDGY. Maybe he was borrowing a name tag from engineering? Although Fudgy was a slender man, I immediately thought of Fudgy the Whale from Carvel. Then that made me think of Cookie Puss. Do you think Tom Carvel is still alive? He always sounded like he was about to keel over during those radio commercials. Clean, professional, cheerful, and efficient. These are just some of the words I'd use to describe this employee, Fudgy. There is not a lot of room to maneuver behind the food cart service counter and many orders involve putting food in the microwave, helping new customers, AND then remembering whose food is coming out of the microwave while giving correct change. I ordered the chicken parmesan sandwich and when it came out nice and hot, Fudgy knew that one was mine even though he had helped 6 other passengers while the sandwich cooked. The sandwich was VERY hot (not Fudgy's fault), so hot in fact that someone could really hurt themselves if they pressed the sandwich on their crotch area while riding a train. I'm considering suing you but that will be in another letter. Fudgy was agile, sometimes doing spins between the microwave and the coffee area. He is THAT good. The Michael Jordan, if you will, of the Amtrak food service world. I didn't want to leave the food cart. (a Fudgy Fan Club is already in the works) This man is HIGHLY skilled and I am writing this letter today to point out his exemplary service to Amtrak management. If Fudgy is currently food cart service man, I think he should be promoted to food cart manager. I hope this letter makes it to the right people and that Fudgy is given his due praise and his hard work and attitude recognized. This was my first time ever riding Amtrak and the fear of hitting another train head-on and dying a horrible death haunted me the whole trip. (I mean c'mon, look at your track record!) But knowing Fudgy was there really eased my feelings and allowed me to relax a little. I tell you, as long as Amtrak continues to employ people like Fudgy, you guys are going to do all right, even with all the de-railings. Is it possible for you to forward Fudgy's work schedule to me? Also, please send me any and all information you can on trolleys including prices, schedules, certification for driving, history and prices. Thank you Amtrak. Yours in transit, Rudy Schumann |