Mornings feel so damn sad these days
without the call of the 8:15
That old familiar echo
has finally died away
leaving nothing but a chill
where there once was a mighty scream
And I’ve watched the flat cars
take away our timber
I’ve watched the coal cars steal our rock
And now that we’ve got
nothing left to take we’re told
that the wheels will stop turning,
the whistles will stop blowing,
these foolish dreams must stop
Last year they closed down the post office,
took the only flag we had in town
That old brick building
still stands like a cenotaph
to a vision lost and buried in
a very distant past
And I’ve watched the flat cars
take away our timber
I’ve watched the coal cars steal our rock
And now that we’ve got
nothing left to take we’re told
that the wheels will stop turning,
the whistles will stop blowing,
these foolish dreams must stop
The longest train I’ve ever seen
was the train that you were on
I walked you to the station,
we kissed and you were gone
I dream at night about you coming home
The train in the station,
your uniform on fire
as you step onto the platform
the band plays a little louder,
and as we embrace your cap falls off
Oh, I guess these foolish dreams must stop
Mornings feel so damn sad these days
without the call of the 8:15
Looks like this town is finally
going to die away
leaving nothing but broken promises
where there once was small town dreams
And I’ve watched the flat cars
take away our timber
I’ve watched the coal cars steal our rock
And now that we’ve got
nothing left to take we’re told
that the TV station will be closing,
Main Street windows will need boarding,
that these foolish dreams must stop
I said goodbye to an old friend this last week.
It was not a person, it was a building, and in a sense it is a metaphor of my life to this point.
The building is one I first walked into over twenty-five years ago as a young kid not too long out of the Army. It was supposed to be a temporary job they told me, but it lasted over a quarter century in that building and some others nearby. During that time, it was often the center of our operations, and the focus of most of my attention at work. Ten thousand times I’ve driven up that long steep road bringing materials and supplies, or myself. Ten thousand times I’ve greeted the people I worked long-long hours with. Ten thousand times I’ve punched the clock, or more recently, logged online to complete my timecard.
I’ve watched renovations and procedures come and go. We tweaked the process where we could in order to work more efficiently and produce a better product.
And always, the specter of layoff was around the corner. For a quarter of a century we’ve been told “layoff may be in the next year or two”. So most of us continued our previous skills as a sideline venture, or learned new ones. Mine was landscaping, growing cactus and building web pages.
Now the walls come (figuratively) tumbling down as we take the last pieces of equipment from the old grand building.
Half of my life has been spent serving this building and it’s occupants, and all I own is due to this last quarter century of work that the company has given me. I am not from a wealthy family, my mother was a refugee from Nazi/Communist Eastern Europe, and my father is the son of poor Ozark Missouri Farmers who never owned much but hardscrabble hill dirt, and lost it all at the tail of The Depression. But now, I live on acreage in California! What a dream!! It shows what can be done in this country with hard work, perseverance and dedication. This is the greatest country on the earth, and I am so thankful that my parents went through the trauma they did so that I could access the opportunities that this land has to offer.
The marketplace of life is set to a certain level, what the mean average produces is what the mean average life will acquire. If you want more than that you have to work very much harder.
Yet the marketplace of life varies depending on the local market. An example is a Third World country, where the people live in huts, walk a mile to carry a bucket of water back from the creek, and have open sewers. The common person there will toil and have those meager benefits, the ones there who work smarter and harder will have perhaps a small house with no electricity. But they will have to work so much harder for that than the common person there. But in this country, the lazy will often be given tax benefits for not working much, they might be given an apartment. The half willing will be able to afford just a bit more than the non-working. But those who desire to work hard might be able to reap great rewards if they do not blow their money. With due time, and good management of their personal resources they might in a few decades be able to live a comfortable life. The standards of this particular land are so much higher than other countries, and it is not with much exaggeration that I say that if you cannot make it in this country, you can’t make it anywhere.
So, the other day, I took the last load out, yesterday I drove the big forklift some eight miles down the road to the depot to await disposition. But before I did, I took one last walk through the building, remembering old times and people, the ones who have passed on, and the ones who have retired. Many are the old friends who have been laid off, almost none of us are left. The place is officially closed and powered down, and my time with the company is nearly up also.
While I have some trepidation with this move into a new phase of life, I am excited for the prospects too. Luckily I am not afraid of work, and the cactus business continues to grow. I also have new venues in mind to pursue, some exciting things most certainly lie ahead for me.
To all the people I have worked with through the years… I thank you all for the things you have taught me, I’ve grown so much due to the advice and lessons I’ve learned. I’ve been blessed to work with some of the greatest people in the country, in the greatest country there ever was. I will always remember the good times, and the good work we did. What we did was for the benefit of the USA, and I am so happy to have paid back some of my debt to the country that gives me such opportunity. Thank you all so much. And I wish all of you the best in your own new ventures.
It was a pleasure to have worked with and known you folks. God Bless you all.
Date/Time:
The Garden Tour will feature three private gardens in the San Jose area where you see hands on how each garden reflects the natural environment around it, and learn from the designer first hand about garden styles and how each garden was constructed.
