Model Trains

Growing up, I knew a guy, friend of my Dad's, who had an incredibly elaborate train set in his basement. It's clear he had thousands of hours invested in it. I never got in to trains, but I do have a hobby video game coding project, and I'm struck by how similar it is to a model train hobby:

• I work on it exclusively in the evenings after the kids are asleep

• It relaxes me and gives me something to daydream about during work meetings

• It'll never make me any money and it'll never be done

The funny thing about my Dad's friend was, he hated showing off his trains. Very few people knew it existed, and even fewer had seen it; he only let me see it once, and my dad was his best friend for 40+ years.

Back then I thought he was secretive, or afraid I'd break something. Now that I have my own pointless hobby, I think I understand him better. It's embarrassing to put so much time and thought into something and to have someone see it and say, "That's neat. So, anyway..." I guess it's more valuable as a private solace than as a conversation piece.