ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
This week marks five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. There was uncertainty, fear and grief, but also, occasionally, there were small, unexpected moments of joy. And we've been sharing some of those moments this week. Next up is Angelina Goldwell of Lacey, Washington. In 2020, she and her spouse had been looking for safe ways to get their toddler, Percy (ph), out of the house.
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ANGELINA GOLDWELL: You know, every time you're taking a little kid out, there was a risk, right? It's hard to go to the playground because you want them to play with other kids, but you don't want them (laughter) to play with other kids right now. And so we were really looking for ways to be outside of the house but still feel safe.
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GOLDWELL: We live somewhat close to train tracks, so we can hear the big freight horns go by. We decided to take a look and see if our local train station had - maybe we could just go watch them. And Percy just loved it. He would just sit on my spouse's shoulders and make those, like, (vocalizing) noises because he was so excited.
PERCY: (Vocalizing).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah, it's coming.
PERCY: (Vocalizing).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Woo woo (ph).
PERCY: (Vocalizing).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Woo woo (ph).
PERCY: (Vocalizing).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Woo woo (ph).
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: You want to get any closer?
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GOLDWELL: We got really familiar with the train that departed at 3:30 in the afternoon. The routine of it, the stability of it was - it was really helpful when everything else was chaotic.
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GOLDWELL: Because we had been coming so much, the conductors would wave to Percy from the window as they were departing or as they were coming in.
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PERCY: (Squealing).
GOLDWELL: One day, one of them had some small item in his hand that we couldn't see, and he took it and tossed it over the fence. And we caught it, and it was a little Amtrak pin that said junior conductor on it.
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GOLDWELL: It is one of Percy's prized possessions. It was a really lovely point of connection, to have it be not just that we were seeing them, but they were seeing us.
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GOLDWELL: Trains and train watching became such a significant part of who we are that I don't know if that's ever going to stop.
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SHAPIRO: That was Angelina Goldwell of Lacey, Washington, who says her son, Percy, now dreams of becoming a train conductor when he grows up.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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