Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Main Line

Merriam-Webster defines the word "mnemonic" as a device intended to assist memory. Sometimes it is done with a set of numbers or word play. The suburbs northwest of Philadelphia are known as the Pennsylvania Main Line as many executives of the old Pennsylvania Railroad built their mansions along that route which is still a charming and affluent area today. And they all rode the Paoli local to and from their Philadelphia offices. Someone invented a "mnemonic" to remember all the station stops along the way - and it is split by east and west branches as follows:

Old        Overbrook                                            Really              Rosemont
Maids    Merion                                                  Vicious            Villanova
Never    Narberth                                               Retrievers        Radnor
Wed      Wynnewood                                          Snap               St. Davids
And       Ardmore                                                Willingly          Wayne
Have     Haverford                                              Snarl               Strafford
Babies   Bryn Mawr                                            Dangerously    Devon
                                                                      
                                                                           Beagles           Berwyn                 
                                                                           Don't                Daylesford
                                                                           Period              Paoli

If you memorize these quotes, then when jarred awake from a nap, with no conductor around, hopefully you will know where you are and you won't miss your station. But don't spend too much time in the bar car. (Sorry to be parochial with this one.)
tjs
Next - Hello, Central.

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