Fri September 21, 2012 Reporter's Notebook  Romance Of The
Rails: Diner Cars & Drinking Companions  The conductor is a blur
of activity during a late night stop in Lincoln NE. Credit
Nathan Heffel / KUNC  Community seating is a unique concept in
the California Zephyr dining car. You have no choice, if you're
traveling alone, of who you sit with. Truly, it’s a roll of the
dice.  Thankfully for my first meal on the train, I sat next to
a delightful semi-retired couple from Queensland, Australia.
Donna Alexander and Jeff Aird are semi-retired government
workers taking a ten week odyssey across the United States.  We
talked about their excursion through Alaska, the wild west of
Utah, and their plans to see the monuments of Washington D.C.
We shared family stories, and they even taught me a few slang
words:    1. sooky. (adj.) Australian slang for feeling sulky
and complain-y, with connotations of needing affection.   2.
whingy (adj.) Australian slang for whiny, like a young child
late for a nap.  Towards the en