Text/Interview:

BR: “Back when I was a little kid, every time we would drive over a railroad track my grandma used to remark, ‘Pick up your feet! We’re going over a Railroad Track!”

Context:

BR has been doing this for his entire life. According to him, picking your feet up when crossing a railroad has nothing to do with luck. Instead, it is a fun tradition that likely spawned out of necessity. BR claims that when his grandmother was a little girl, railroad tracks were legitimately dangerous. They were extremely bumpy and if you did not pick up your feet when you crossed, you could injure your ankles. As a result, picking your feet up over a railroad track became a habit for BR’s grandma and she passed this down to her children and grandchildren. The result is a tradition that BR claims everyone in his family has fun with.

My Interpretation:

I think that this is a very interesting piece of family folklore. What was once a necessity eventually evolved into a fun tradition he performs every time he crosses a railroad. Traditions like these are what create a sense of unity within a group and I think it will be interesting to see this tradition evolve as it passes hands from one generation to the next.