Melody is a “foamer”

For reasons beyond me, Melody — one of our top reporters at the Midpeninsula Post — is obsessed with the Caltrain.

So on Saturday, instead of writing college apps or reading through chapter 43 of “Pride and Prejudice,” Melody, Emily (one of our photographers) and I loaded into my VW Golf and visited every Zone 3 platform so that Melody could write an article ranking the stations.

In all, it probably took us something like five hours to hit each station, take photos and wait around for Melody to finish her meticulous inspection. The 90+ degree heat for sure added to the fun.

Now that I think about it, I’m honestly not sure what I was thinking when I so readily gave the story pitch the green light. Because, like, what are people going to do with the article? Not stop at their station?

But that’s besides the point. It was an experience, and we learned a lot.

Like, for instance, we learned that “foamer” is a pejorative term for diehard rail enthusiasts. You can thank the Caltrain operators for teaching us this.

And you’d think that being called a “foamer” by a train operator would be enough, but that’s not even the end of it with Melody: She spent more time talking about the benches at the stations than she did the actual trains or anything else (I literally have an hour of footage of Melody talking about just benches).

I guess another thing I learned through it all is that Melody has this Caltrain obsession in the first place, which I never would’ve known if she hadn’t pitched the story.

Part of me wants to end this on some sweet note about about not being afraid to pursue even your quirkiest interests, but honestly, I’m not sure if that’s something that I can responsibly encourage.

So, two takeaways:
1) Be careful about the strange things you reveal to friends, because there’s a very good chance that you might be exposed on an Instagram post.
2) You should definitely read Melody’s article — if not for the journalism, then at least for the giggles.